Fluctuations of charged-particle multiplicities over narrow rapidity intervals in π−A collisions at 40 GeV/c

Maximum fluctuations of charged-particle multiplicities over narrow rapidity intervals are investigated for high-P⊥ processes in π−A collisions (where A=H, D, C, Cu, Pb) at 40 GeV/c. The observed fluctuations are studied by the method of factorial moments. The results show that the factorial moments 〈F i 〉 vary in proportion to a power of the rapidity gap δy. This suggests that there are dynamical fluctuations in the processes under study. The experimental data are compared with theoretical results obtained on the basis of the model of quark-gluon strings by using the FRITIOF-7.02 package.