Abstract
Bose-Einstein correlations of charged kaons are used to probe collisions at and are compared to charged pion probes, which have a larger hadronic scattering cross section. Three-dimensional Gaussian source radii are extracted, along with a one-dimensional kaon emission source function. The centrality dependences of the three Gaussian radii are well described by a single linear function of with a zero intercept. Imaging analysis shows a deviation from a Gaussian tail at , although the bulk emission at lower radius is well described by a Gaussian. The presence of a non-Gaussian tail in the kaon source reaffirms that the particle emission region in a heavy-ion collision is extended, and that similar measurements with pions are not solely due to the decay of long-lived resonances.
- Received 28 March 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.142301
©2009 American Physical Society