Multiplicity dependence of charged-particle intra-jet properties in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

The first measurement of the multiplicity dependence of intra-jet properties of leading charged-particle jets in proton–proton (pp) collisions is reported. The mean charged-particle multiplicity and jet fragmentation distributions are measured in minimum-bias and high-multiplicity pp collisions at center-of-mass energy s = 13 TeV using the ALICE detector. Jets are reconstructed from charged particles produced in the midrapidity region (|η|<0.9) using the sequential recombination anti-k_T algorithm with jet resolution parameters R = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 for the transverse momentum (p_T) interval 5–110 GeV/c. The high-multiplicity events are selected by the forward V0 scintillator detectors. The mean charged-particle multiplicity inside the leading jet cone rises monotonically with increasing jet p_T in qualitative agreement with previous measurements at lower energies. The distributions of jet fragmentation function variables z^ch and ξ^ch are measured for different jet-p_T intervals. Jet-p_T independent fragmentation of leading jets is observed for wider jets except at high- and low-z^ch values. The observed “hump-backed plateau” structure in the ξ^ch distribution indicates suppression of low-p_T particles. In high-multiplicity events, an enhancement of the fragmentation probability of low-z^ch particles accompanied by a suppression of high-z^ch particles is observed compared to minimum-bias events. This behavior becomes more prominent for low-p_T jets with larger jet radius. The results are compared with predictions of QCD-inspired event generators, PYTHIA 8 with Monash 2013 tune and EPOS LHC. It is found that PYTHIA 8 qualitatively reproduces the jet modification in high-multiplicity events except at high jet p_T. These measurements provide important constraints to models of jet fragmentation.