On the description of multiplicity distributions in multiple production processes in terms of combinants

The purpose of the study is the description of multiplicity distributions (MD) of secondary charged particles in terms of combinants. The mathematical method for MD is suggested, determination of combinants and their properties is given. It is particularly stressed that the combinants possess the ''additivity'' property. Application of the proposed method is considered on the example of the description of data available for proton-proton interactions with energies from 6 to 400 GeV. The p, d, He, C reactions on C and Ta nuclei at 2.2, 4.2, 5.4 GeV energies and H, C reactions on Li, C, Ne, Al, Si, Cu, Zr, Pr nuclei at 4.5 GeV are considered as well. In is shown that the non Poisson combinant property is strongly pronounced for averaged multiplicity values < n > > or approximately 1. The following conclusions are drawn. For pp collisions combinants reveal the MD form dependence on energy change. MD description in combinant terms is convenient mainly for detailed study of low-multiplicity distribution part. The combinant method conforms better for describing MD for rare particles (antiprotons, charmed particles etc...). The description however needs high statistics and especially high accuracy in determining the Psub(0) probability which in itself is an experimental difficulty, as the P0 value is subject to systematic errors connected with the separation of elastic and quasi-elastic scattering, diffraction dissociation, etc