Investigation into the event-activity dependence of gamma(nS) relative production in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The ratios of the production cross sections between the excited gamma(2S) and gamma(3S) mesons and the gamma(1S) ground state, detected via their decay into two muons, are studied as a function of the number of charged particles in the event. The data are from proton-proton collisions at root s = 7TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb(-1), collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Evidence of a decrease in these ratios as a function of the particle multiplicity is observed, more pronounced at low transverse momentum p(T)(mu mu). For gamma(nS) mesons with p(T)(mu mu) > 7 GeV, where most of the data were collected, the correlation with multiplicity is studied as a function of the underlying event transverse sphericity and the number of particles in a cone around the gamma(nS) direction. The ratios are found to be multiplicity independent for jet-like events. The mean p(T)(mu mu) values for the gamma(nS) states as a function of particle multiplicity are also measured and found to grow more steeply as their mass increases.