Experimental measurement of sizes of emission sources for deuterons and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>α</mml:mi></mml:math> particles in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi><mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/><mml:mn>16</mml:mn></mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> collisions at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>3.25</mml:mn><mml:mi>A</mml:mi><mml:mspace width="0.16em"/><mml:mi>GeV</mml:mi><mml:mo>/</mml:mo><mml:mi>c</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>
Abstract
The sizes of emission sources of deuterons and $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles were determined in minimum bias $^{16}\mathrm{O}\ensuremath{-}p$ collisions at $3.25A\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{GeV}/c$ from the analysis of experimental one-dimensional correlation functions of these particles, based on a theoretical model assuming the simultaneous excitation and decay of sources (of identical particles), whose coordinates are distributed according to a Gaussian function. The peak was observed in the experimental correlation function of the pairs of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles in the region of $q<25\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{MeV}/c$, which was deduced to be due to decays of unstable $^{8}\mathrm{Be}$ and $^{9}\mathrm{B}$ nuclei at various kinetic energies. This result does not contradict the popular assumption of other authors about the existence of the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-condensate state in the $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ nucleus since unstable $^{8}\mathrm{Be}$ and $^{9}\mathrm{B}$ nuclei themselves can probably be formed from decay of the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-condensate state of the oxygen nucleus if such a state does exist.