Charged Kaon Femtoscopy with L\'evy Sources in $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV Au+Au Collisions at PHENIX

TL;DR

This study measures Bose-Einstein correlations of charged kaons in high-energy gold-gold collisions, using Lévý source models to explore particle emission characteristics and compare them with pion data.

Contribution

It introduces a Lévý source parametrization for charged kaon correlations in heavy-ion collisions, providing new insights into particle emission sources.

Findings

Lévý exponent $e1$ varies with transverse mass

Correlation parameters differ from pion measurements

Results suggest complex emission source structures

Abstract

The PHENIX experiment measured Bose-Einstein quantum-statistical correlations of charged kaons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The correlation functions are parametrized assuming that the source emitting the particles has a L\'evy shape, characterized by the L\'evy exponent $\alpha$ and the L\'evy scale $R$. By introducing the intercept parameter $\lambda$, we account for the core-halo fraction. The parameters are investigated as a function of transverse mass. The comparison of the parameters measured for kaon-kaon with those measured from pion-pion correlation may clarify the connection of L\'evy parameters to physical processes.