Multiplicity Fluctuations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

Abstract

In the PHOBOS experiment, charged particles are measured in almost the full solid angle. This enables the study of fluctuations and correlations in the particle production over a very wide kinematic range. In this paper, we show results of a direct search for fluctuations identified by an unusual shape of the pseudorapidity distribution. In addition, we use analysis of correlations of the multiplicity in similar pseudorapidity bins, placed symmetrically in the forward and backward hemispheres, to test the hypothesis of production of particles in clusters.