APS » PROLA » Phys. Rev. D » Volume 64 » Issue 9

Phys. Rev. D 64, 097101 (2001) [4 pages]

Single-spin azimuthal asymmetries in electroproduction of neutral pions in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering
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A. Airapetian et al. (HERMES Collaboration)
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Received 4 April 2001; published 5 October 2001

A single-spin asymmetry in the azimuthal distribution of neutral pions relative to the lepton scattering plane has been measured for the first time in deep-inelastic scattering of positrons off longitudinally polarized protons. The analyzing power in the sin φ moment of the cross section is 0.019±0.007(stat)±0.003(syst). This result is compared to single-spin asymmetries for charged pion production measured in the same kinematic range. The π0 asymmetry is of the same size as the π+ asymmetry and shows a similar dependence on the relevant kinematic variables. The asymmetry is described by a phenomenological calculation based on a fragmentation function that represents sensitivity to the transverse polarization of the struck quark.


©2001 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRD/v64/e097101
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.64.097101
PACS: 13.87.Fh, 13.60.-r, 13.88.+e, 14.20.Dh

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