Test of the τ-model of Bose–Einstein correlations and reconstruction of the source function in hadronic Z-boson decay at LEP

Abstract

Bose–Einstein correlations of pairs of identical charged pions produced in hadronic Z decays are analyzed in terms of various parametrizations. A good description is achieved using a Lévy stable distribution in conjunction with a model where a particle’s momentum is correlated with its space–time point of production, the τ-model. Using this description and the measured rapidity and transverse momentum distributions, the space–time evolution of particle emission in two-jet events is reconstructed. However, the elongation of the particle emission region previously observed is not accommodated in the τ-model, and this is investigated using an ad hoc modification.