Centrality dependence of charged-neutral particle fluctuations in 158A GeV Pb+Pb collisions

Abstract

Results on the study of localized fluctuations in the multiplicity of charged particles and photons produce 158A GeV/c Pb+Pb collisions are presented for four different centrality classes. The charged versus neutral particle multiplicity correlations in common phase space regions of varying azimuthal size are analyzed by two different methods. Various types of mixed events are constructed to probe fluctuations arising from different sources. The measured results are compared to those from simulations and from mixed events. The comparison indicates the presence of non-statistical fluctuations in both the charged particle and photon multiplicities in limited azimuthal regions which decrease with decrease in centrality. However, no correlated charged-neutral fluctuations, a possible signature of formation of disoriented chiral condensates, are observed. An upper limit on the production of disoriented chiral condensates has been set.