ΛK femtoscopy in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV

The first measurements of the scattering parameters of Lambda K pairs in all three charge combinations (Lambda K+, Lambda K-, and Lambda K-S(0)) are presented. The results are achieved through a femtoscopic analysis of Lambda K correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV recorded by ALICE at the Large Hadron Collider. The femtoscopic correlations result from strong final-state interactions and are fit with a parametrization allowing for both the characterization of the pair emission source and the measurement of the scattering parameters for the particle pairs. Extensive studies with the THERMINATOR 2 event generator provide a good description of the nonfemtoscopic background, which results mainly from collective effects, with unprecedented precision. Furthermore, together with HIJING simulations, this model is used to account for contributions from residual correlations induced by feed-down from particle decays. The extracted scattering parameters indicate that the strong force is repulsive in the Lambda K+ interaction and attractive in the Lambda K- interaction. The data hint that the Lambda K-S(0) interaction is attractive; however, the uncertainty of the result does not permit such a decisive conclusion. The results suggest an effect arising either from different quark-antiquark interactions between the pairs (s (s) over bar in Lambda K+ and u (u) over bar in Lambda K-) or from different net strangeness for each system (S = 0 for Lambda K+, and S = -2 for Lambda K-). Finally, the Lambda K systems exhibit source radii larger than expected from extrapolation from identical particle femtoscopic studies. This effect is interpreted as resulting from the separation in space-time of the single-particle Lambda and K source distributions.

Automated summary

The study presents the first measurements of scattering parameters for Lambda K pairs in all charge combinations, with results showing repulsive interactions in Lambda K+ and attractive interactions in Lambda K-. The data suggest a possible attractive interaction in Lambda K-S(0), and the source radii for Lambda K systems are larger than expected due to separation in space-time of single-particle Lambda and K source distributions.