Evidence for the Onset of Semi-inclusive Scaling in Proton-Proton Collisions in the50−300−GeVcMomentum Range

Evidence is presented to support the onset, in the $50-300-\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c}$ region of incident momentum, of the asymptotic prediction of Koba, Nielsen, and Olesen regarding the scaling behavior of the charged-prong multiplicity distribution in proton-proton collisions. Lower-energy data, typified by data at $19\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c}$, are found not to demonstrate this limiting behavior.