On the role of the time scale Δt in Bose-Einstein correlations

The time scale parameter Δt, which appears in the Bose-Einstein Correlations (BEC) treated in terms of the Heisenberg uncertainty relations, is reexamined. Arguments are given for the role of Δt to be a measure of the particles' emission time rather than representing the strength property of the correlated particles. Thus in the analyses of the Z0 hadronic decays, the Δt given value of ∼10−24 seconds, is the particles' emission time determined by the Z0 lifetime. In heavy ion collisions Δt measures the emission time of the particles produced in a nucleus of atomic number A. This emission time is shown here to be equal to Δt=mπa2ℏc2A2/3 that is, proportional to the nucleus surface area. This relation agrees rather well with the experimental Δt values deduced from the BEC analyses of heavy ion collisions.