Localized charged-neutral fluctuations in<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mn>5</mml:mn><mml:mn>8</mml:mn><mml:mi>A</mml:mi></mml:math>GeV Pb+Pb collisions

Localized fluctuations in the multiplicity of charged particles and photons produced in central $158A \mathrm{GeV}/c$ Pb+Pb collisions are studied. The charged versus neutral correlations in common $\ensuremath{\eta}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\varphi}$ phase space regions of varying azimuthal size are analyzed by two different methods. The analysis provides a model-independent demonstration of nonstatistical fluctuations in both charged particle and photon multiplicities in limited azimuthal regions. However, no correlated charge-neutral fluctuations are observed, contrary to expectations for the production of a disoriented chiral condensate. The result is not explained by the widely used VENUS model.