Dependence of the Multiplicity of Secondary Particles in Relativistic Nucleus–Nucleus Interaction on the Collision Geometry

In most collider experiments, the multiplicity of secondary particles is used to estimate the degree of collision centrality. It is assumed that the average multiplicity increases with an increase in the participating nucleons and the collision energy. In this work, a detailed study of the dependence of the multiplicity of secondary particles on the type of target, energy, and centrality of interaction for heavy (AgBr) and light (HCNO) target nuclei present in a nuclear emulsion (Em, NIKFI BR-2) was carried out using sulfur (S-32) projectiles at 3.7 AGeV and 200 AGeV and silicon (Si-28) projectiles at 14.6 AGeV. A comparative analysis of the multiplicity for these interactions showed that in the central interactions of S at 200 AGeV with heavy nuclei of the emulsion, the energy dependence of the multiplicity differs significantly from the other considered interactions.