Higher order pion interferometry. Moments and cumulants

Abstract

Pion interferometry can be viewed as intermittency analysis in terms of momentum transfer of like-sign particles. By putting the common practice of event mixing on a sound footing and extending its use, we provide the tools to eliminate the combinatoric background contained in the usual correlation functions. Information on true higher order correlations can now be extracted and the question whether these play any role in interferometry addressed experimentally.