Multiplicity distribution and production mechanisms in high energy hadron collisions

Wroblewski has noted that, in inelastic hadron collisions at high energy, the average charged multiplicity (n) and the dispersion D=((n /sup 2/)-(n)/sup 2/)/sup 1/2/ obey a linear law D=A(n)-B with A, B constant. The author shows that such a linear relation is easily understood if there are two distinct classes of inelastic collisions, each having approximately constant cross section and reasonably small dispersion, but one having markedly larger multiplicities than the other. The low multiplicity class, naturally identified with diffraction dissociation is found to have a cross section about equal to the elastic cross section, both for pp and pi p collisions. (5 refs).