https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-006-0122-5
Regular Article – Experimental Physics
Femtoscopy in heavy ion collisions
Department of Physics, Ohio State University, 191 W. Woodruff Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
* e-mail: lisa@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu
Received:
31
July
2006
Published online:
30
November
2006
Non-trivial space-time geometrical effects are at the core of bulk-sector heavy ion physics, and two-particle correlations at low relative velocity are the most direct probe of this geometry at the femtometer scale. I present a brief overview of the wealth of femtoscopic measurements from the past two decades of heavy ion experiments. Essentially every conceivable “knob” at our disposal has been turned; the response of two-particle correlations to these variations has revealed much about the space-momentum substructure of the hot source created in the collisions. I discuss the present status of the femtoscopic program and questions which remain, and point to new efforts which aim to resolve them.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2007
