Branching processes and multiparticle production

The general theory of branching processes is used for establishing the relation between the parameters $k$ and $\overline{n}$ of the negative binomial distribution. This relation gives the possibility to describe the overall data on multiplicity distributions in $pp\left(p\overline{p}\right)$ collisions for energies up to 900 GeV and to make several interesting predictions for higher energies. This general approach is free from ambiguities associated with the extrapolation of the parameter $k$ to unity.