Pseudorapidity densities of charged particles with transverse momentum thresholds in pp collisions at √s=5.02 and 13 TeV

The pseudorapidity density of charged particles with minimum transverse momentum (p(T)) thresholds of 0.15, 0.5, 1, and 2 GeV/c is measured in pp collisions at the center of mass energies of root s = 5.02 and 13 TeV with the ALICE detector. The study is carried out for inelastic collisions with at least one primary charged particle having a pseudorapidity (eta) within +/- 0.8 and p(T) larger than the corresponding threshold. In addition, measurements without p(T)-thresholds are performed for inelastic and nonsingle-diffractive events as well as for inelastic events with at least one charged particle having vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1 in pp collisions at root s = 5.02 TeV for the first time at the LHC. These measurements are compared to the PYTHIA 6, PYTHIA 8, and EPOS-LHC models. In general, the models describe the eta dependence of particle production well. However, discrepancies are observed for the highest transverse momentum threshold (p(T) > 2 GeV/c), highlighting the importance of such measurements for tuning event generators. The new measurements agree within uncertainties with results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments obtained at root s = 13 TeV.