Imaging Three-Dimensional Relative Sources from Nuclear Reactions

Abstract

One can access the space-time development of a heavy-ion reaction directly by imaging the source function from two particle correlation functions. In the case of like-charged pions, this imaging can be recast as a Fourier inversion problem. We will demonstrate how this inversion can be performed on full three-dimensional (i.e. in long, side and out coordinates) experimentally determined correlation functions. We will discuss the resulting three dimensional images of the relative sources. Finally, we will discuss how to perform the full three dimensional inversion for particles whose final state interactions are more complicated than those of the pions.