Multiplicity dependence of (anti-)deuteron production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV

Understand

In this letter, the production of deuterons and anti-deuterons in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV is studied as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity density at mid-rapidity with the ALICE detector at the LHC.

• Production yields are measured at mid-rapidity in five multiplicity classes and as a function of the deuteron transverse momentum ($p_{\rm{T}}$).
• The measurements are discussed in the context of hadron-coalescence models.
• The coalescence parameter $B_{2}$, extracted from the measured spectra of (anti-)deuterons and primary (anti-)protons, exhibits no significant $p_{\rm{T}}$-dependence for $p_{\rm{T}} < 3$ GeV/$c$, in agreement with the expectations of a simple coalescence picture.