Mean halo mass as a function of the number of LAEs within the halo at z = 2.4 (blue), z = 3.1 (magenta), and z = 4.5 (green). The TNG100 true multiples are shown with solid lines, while the TNG100 multiples identified using projected distances of rp_max = 100 pkpc at z = 2.4, 70 pkpc at z = 3.1 and 50 pkpc at z = 4.5 are displayed using dashed lines. Shaded regions and error bars show the error of the mean. As the number of LAEs in a halo increases, the true mean halo mass also increases, suggesting that the number of physically associated LAEs can serve as a proxy of halo mass. The identified multiples follow the underlying trend more closely at higher redshift.