Comparison of Source Images for Protons, ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$'s, and $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$'s in $6A\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}$ $\mathrm{A}\mathrm{u}+\mathrm{A}\mathrm{u}$ Collisions

Comparison of Source Images for Protons, $π^{-}$ ’s, and $Λ$ ’s in $6 A G e V$ $A u + A u$ Collisions

P. Chung et al. (E895 Collaboration)

Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 162301 – Published 14 October 2003

Abstract

Source images are extracted from two-particle correlations constructed from strange and nonstrange hadrons produced in $6 A G e V$ $A u + A u$ collisions. Very different source images result from $p p$ vs $p Λ$ vs $π^{-} π^{-}$ correlations. Scaling by transverse mass can describe the apparent source size ratio for $p / π^{-}$ but not for $Λ / π^{-}$ or $Λ / p$ . These observations suggest important differences in the space-time emission histories for protons, pions, and neutral strange baryons produced in the same events.