Premium
Pion Interferometry in High Energy Hadron and Nuclear Collisions: Radial Expansion and Freeze‐Out
Author(s) -
Stock R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
annalen der physik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1521-3889
pISSN - 0003-3804
DOI - 10.1002/andp.19915030117
Subject(s) - physics , rapidity , pion , hadron , nuclear physics , radius , decoupling (probability) , isotropy , transverse plane , particle physics , quantum mechanics , computer security , computer science , structural engineering , control engineering , engineering
It is shown that the transverse radius, obtained from analysis of two‐pion correlation functions in the mid‐rapidity domain, should reflect the radius of the pion emitting volume. Emission is interpreted as the decoupling from strong interaction, during expansion of the initial interaction volume. Assuming an isotropic expansion without radial flow, and a simultaneous freeze‐out of pions throughout the source volume we show that the transverse radius from interferometry should be proportional to the square root of the hadron rapidity density, dN/dy, observed at mid‐rapidity. Recent data from hadron‐hadron and nucleus‐nucleus collisions at or above √s ≈ 20 GeV per nucleon are well interpolated by this result.