Particle interferometry for relativistic heavy-ion collisions

In this report we give a detailed account on Hanbury Brown/Twiss (HBT) particle interferometric methods for relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These exploit identical two-particle correlations to gain access to the space-time geometry and dynamics of the final freeze-out stage. The connection between the measured correlations in momentum space and the phase-space structure of the particle emitter is established, both with and without final state interactions. Suitable Gaussian parametrizations for the two-particle correlation function are derived and the physical interpretation of their parameters is explained. After reviewing various model studies, we show how a combined analysis of single- and two-particle spectra allows to reconstruct the final state of relativistic heavy-ion collisions. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.