Search for a common baryon source in high-multiplicity pp collisions at the LHC

Abstract

We report on the measurement of the size of the particle-emitting source from two-baryon correlations with ALICE in high-multiplicity pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV. The source radius is studied with low relative momentum p–p, p^- –p^-, p–Λ , and p^-–Λ^- pairs as a function of the pair transverse mass m_T considering for the first time in a quantitative way the effect of strong resonance decays. After correcting for this effect, the radii extracted for pairs of different particle species agree. This indicates that protons, antiprotons, Λ s, and Λ^- s originate from the same source. Within the measured m_T range (1.1–2.2) GeV/c^2 the invariant radius of this common source varies between 1.3 and 0.85 fm. These results provide a precise reference for studies of the strong hadron–hadron interactions and for the investigation of collective properties in small colliding systems.