Internal multiplicity distributions of jets from nonlinear evolution within the jet function framework

Abstract

Jets selected with high internal charged-particle multiplicity exhibit markedly different substructure patterns compared to inclusive jet samples. Such correlations motivate a systematic study of jet observables as a function of the normalized multiplicity, $\nu = N_{\rm ch}/\langle N_{\rm ch}\rangle$. In this work, we develop a theoretical framework for the full charged-particle multiplicity distribution of exclusive and inclusive jets, formulated within the jet-function approach. The hard production and jet function are evaluated at NLO+LL$_R$ accuracy. The internal parton dynamics governing the multiplicity distribution are described by coupled nonlinear branching equations with angular ordering, supplemented by a nonperturbative modeling term that accounts for hadron-level effects. The resulting predictions are validated against \textsc{Pythia8} simulations and compared with CMS data. We examine the effects of both nonperturbative and perturbative components in shaping the multiplicity distribution, and show that Koba--Nielsen--Olesen (KNO) scaling is notably violated in the region $\nu > 2$ in the full solution, with a trend consistent with Monte Carlo results. This framework that numerically solves the nonlinear multiplicity evolution goes beyond DLA-like approximations and reproduces key features seen in event generators, providing a solid foundation for future investigations of multiplicity -- conditioned jet substructure within the jet function formalism.