Abstract submitted to the
         XXXth International Conference on High Energy Physics
                July 27 - August 2, 2000, Osaka, Japan
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                   Multiplicity distributions in DIS at HERA

                    
                               ZEUS Collaboration





                                    Abstract


    The multi-hadronic final state has been investigated in both
inclusive and diffractive neutral current deep inelastic ep scattering
with the ZEUS detector at HERA, using an integrated luminosity of 5.5
pb-1. The mean charged multiplicity observed in the pseudorapidity
region |eta_lab|<=1.75 has been measured as a function of its
invariant mass, M_eff; it increases faster with M_eff than ln(M_eff)
in both inclusive and diffractive DIS. The results are compared with
hadron-hadron and e^+e^- data. The ZEUS measurements are inconsistent
with the universality of hadronisation in multiparticle production
observed in previous experiments at lower energies.