Systematic investigation of scaled factorial cumulant moments for nucleus-nucleus interactions

Abstract

We use scaled factorial cumulant moments to analyze pseudorapidity fluctuations in nucleus-nucleus collisions. This approach is similar to the method of scaled factorial moments except that it removes the effects of lower-order correlations upon a given moment. Significant second-order cumulants and cumulant indices (slopes with respect to bin size) are found for all of the interactions studied. These indices are found to have an inverse dependence upon average pseudorapidity particle density.