Charged-Particle Pseudorapidity Density Distributions from<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>A</mml:mi><mml:mi>u</mml:mi><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mi>A</mml:mi><mml:mi>u</mml:mi></mml:math>Collisions at<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msqrt><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>s</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mi>NN</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:msqrt><mml:mspace/><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mspace/><mml:mn>130</mml:mn><mml:mn/><mml:mi/><mml:mi>GeV</mml:mi></mml:math>

The charged-particle pseudorapidity density dN(ch)/d eta has been measured for Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)] = 130 GeV at RHIC, using the PHOBOS apparatus. The total number of charged particles produced for the 3% most-central Au+Au collisions for /eta/<or=5.4 is found to be 4200+/-470. The evolution of dN(ch)/d eta with centrality is discussed, and compared to model calculations and to data from proton-induced collisions. The data show an enhancement in charged-particle production at midrapidity, while in the fragmentation regions, the results are consistent with expectations from pp and pA scattering.