Interpreting BEC in e+ e- annihilation

Abstract

The usual interpretation of Bose-Einstein correlations (BEC) of identical boson pairs relates the width of the peak in the correlation function at small relative four-momentum to the spatial extent of the source of the bosons. However, in the τ-model, which successfully describes BEC in hadronic Z decay, the width of the peak is related to the temporal extent of boson emission. Some new checks on the validity of both the τ-model and the usual descriptions are presented.