Proton evaporation time scales from longitudinal and transverse two-proton correlation functions

Two-proton correlation functions for the inverse kinematics reaction ¹²⁹Xe+²⁷Al at E/A=31 MeV have been reanalyzed to search for differences between longitudinal and transverse correlations indicative of emission from a long-lived composite system. Evidence for such differences is found when tight angular cuts are applied in the compound nucleus rest frame and when the correlation functions are constructed by the event mixing technique.