Transverse-momentum distributions in high-energy collisions

The distribution in transverse momentum of particles produced in very high-energy hadronic collisions is studied using a general class of Gaussian models. The models are exactly soluble and readily compared with experiment, given the lowest moments of single-particle and two-particle distributions. Perhaps most important, they provide a simple framework for prototypes of specific dynamical schemes, such as multiperipheral or statistical models, in which the general trends and signatures of these schemes are readily apparent.