Measuring K_S⁰K^± interactions using Pb–Pb collisions at √s_NN=2.76 TeV

We present the first ever measurements of femtoscopic correlations between the K_S⁰ and K^± particles. The analysis was performed on the data from Pb–Pb collisions at √s_NN =2.76 TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. The observed femtoscopic correlations are consistent with final-state interactions proceeding via the a₀(980) resonance. The extracted kaon source radius and correlation strength parameters for K_S⁰K^- are found to be equal within the experimental uncertainties to those for K_S⁰K⁺. Comparing the results of the present study with those from published identical-kaon femtoscopic studies by ALICE, mass and coupling parameters for the a₀ resonance are tested. Our results are also compatible with the interpretation of the a₀ having a tetraquark structure instead of that of a diquark.