Bose-Einstein correlations of charged and neutral kaons in pp and Pb—Pb collisions at the LHC with the ALICE experiment

Due to the effects of quantum statistics and final state interactions, momentum correlations of two or more particles at small relative velocities, i.e. at small relative momenta in their center-of-mass system, are sensitive to the space-time characteristics of the production processes at the level of fm (10(-15) m). Kaons are the perfect tool to study Bose-Einstein correlations due to the fact that they are less influenced by resonance decays and therefore probe more effectively directly produced particles. In conjunction with femtoscopic measurements of pions and protons, they can also reveal properties of collective dynamics in heavy-ion collisions. We report on the results of Bose-Einstein correlations of charged and neutral kaons in pp collisions at√s = 7 TeV and in Pb-Pb collisions at √s(NN) = 2.76 TeV by the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are compared with existing data from Bose-Einstein correlations of identical pions at LHC energies, and of kaons in pp collisions. A comparison of experimental data with theoretical expectations is also carried out.