Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton–proton collisions at =900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC

Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton–proton collisions at √ s = 900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC ✩,✩✩ ALICE Collaboration a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Keywords: ALICE LHC pp 900 GeV Transverse momentum PYTHIA The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton–proton collisions at √ s = 900 GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|η| < 0.8) over the transverse momentum range 0.15 < p T < 10 GeV/c. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive (NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for |η| < 0.8 is p T INEL = 0.483 ± 0.001 (stat.) ± 0.007 (syst.) GeV/c and p T NSD = 0.489 ± 0.001 (stat.) ± 0.007 (syst.) GeV/c, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger p T than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET. 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.