Imaging Freeze-Out Sources and Extracting Strong Interaction Parameters in Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

Abstract By combining femtoscopic interferometry with an optical deblurring algorithm, we present a novel method to image the source in heavy-ion collisions (HICs), while simultaneously determining the interaction strength between particle pairs. The spatial distribution of the emission source has been reconstructed for protons (p) and antiprotons ($\overline{p}$) from the respective pp and $\overline{p}\overline{p}$ correlation functions in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{S_{\mathrm{NN}}}=200$ GeV. Within experimental uncertainties, protons and antiprotons share the same freeze-out distribution showing higher density in the center compared to the widely assumed Gaussian shape. The results evidence the matter–antimatter symmetry in coordinate space at the freeze-out moment before the nucleons are fully randomized in the collisions.