Search Results (20 total)

The HERMES experiment has measured the transverse polarization of Λ and Λ̅ hyperons produced inclusively in quasireal photoproduction at a positron beam energy of 27.6 GeV. The transverse polarization P_n^Λ of the Λ hyperon is found to be positive while the observed Λ̅ polarization is compatible with zero. The values averaged over the kinematic acceptance of HERMES are P_n^Λ=0.078±0.006(stat)±0.012(syst) and P_n^Λ̅ =-0.025±0.015(stat)±0.018(syst) for Λ and Λ̅ , respectively. The dependences of P_n^Λ and P_n^Λ̅ on the fraction ζ of the beam’s light-cone momentum carried by the hyperon and on the hyperon’s transverse momentum p_T were investigated. The measured Λ polarization rises linearly with p_T and exhibits a different behavior for low and high values of ζ, which approximately correspond to the backward and forward regions in the center-of-mass frame of the γ^*N reaction.

The first observation of an azimuthal cross section asymmetry with respect to the charge of the incoming lepton beam is reported from a study of hard exclusive electroproduction of real photons. The data have been accumulated by the HERMES experiment at DESY, in which the HERA 27.6 GeV electron or positron beam scattered off an unpolarized hydrogen gas target. The observed asymmetry is attributed to the interference between the Bethe-Heitler process and the deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) process. The interference term is sensitive to DVCS amplitudes, which provide the most direct access to generalized parton distributions.

Precise measurements of the spin structure functions of the proton g₁^p(x,Q²) and deuteron g₁^d(x,Q²) are presented over the kinematic range 0.0041≤x≤0.9 and 0.18  GeV²≤Q²≤20  GeV². The data were collected at the HERMES experiment at DESY, in deep-inelastic scattering of 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized positrons off longitudinally polarized hydrogen and deuterium gas targets internal to the HERA storage ring. The neutron spin structure function g₁ⁿ is extracted by combining proton and deuteron data. The integrals of g₁^p,d at Q²=5  GeV² are evaluated over the measured x range. Neglecting any possible contribution to the g₁^d integral from the region x≤0.021, a value of 0.330±0.011(theo)±0.025(exp)±0.028(evol) is obtained for the flavor-singlet axial charge a₀ in a leading-twist next-to-next-to-leading-order analysis.

The transfer of polarization from a high-energy positron to a Λ0 hyperon produced in semiinclusive deep-inelastic scattering has been measured. The data have been obtained by the HERMES experiment at DESY using the 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized positron beam of the HERA collider and unpolarized gas targets internal to the positron (electron) storage ring. The longitudinal spin-transfer coefficient is found to be DLL′Λ=0.11±0.10(stat)±0.03(syst) at an average fractional energy carried by the Λ0 hyperon ⟨z⟩=0.45. The dependence of DLL′Λ on both the fractional energy z and the fractional longitudinal momentum xF is presented.

The first measurements of double-hadron production in deep-inelastic scattering within the nuclear medium were made with the HERMES spectrometer at DESY HERA using a 27.6 GeV positron beam. By comparing data for deuterium, nitrogen, krypton, and xenon nuclei, the influence of the nuclear medium on the ratio of double-hadron to single-hadron yields was investigated. Nuclear effects on the additional hadron are clearly observed, but with little or no difference among nitrogen, krypton, or xenon, and with smaller magnitude than effects seen on previously measured single-hadron multiplicities. The data are compared with models based on partonic energy loss or prehadronic scattering and with a model based on a purely absorptive treatment of the final-state interactions. Thus, the double-hadron ratio provides an additional tool for studying modifications of hadronization in nuclear matter.

The Hermes experiment has investigated the tensor spin structure of the deuteron using the 27.6  GeV/c positron beam of DESY HERA. The use of a tensor-polarized deuteron gas target with only a negligible residual vector polarization enabled the first measurement of the tensor asymmetry A_zz^d and the tensor structure function b₁^d for average values of the Bjorken variable 0.01<⟨x⟩<0.45 and of the negative of the squared four-momentum transfer 0.5  GeV²<⟨Q²⟩<5  GeV². The quantities A_zz^d and b₁^d are found to be nonzero. The rise of b₁^d for decreasing values of x can be interpreted to originate from the same mechanism that leads to nuclear shadowing in unpolarized scattering.

A search for an exotic baryon resonance with S=-2, Q=-2 has been performed in quasireal photoproduction on a deuterium target through the decay channel Ξ^-π^-→Λπ^-π^-→pπ^-π^-π^-. No evidence for a previously reported Ξ^--(1860) resonance is found in the Ξ^-π^- invariant mass spectrum. An upper limit for the photoproduction cross section of 2.1 nb is found at the 90% confidence level. The photoproduction cross section for the Ξ⁰(1530) is found to be between 9 and 24 nb.

Polarized deep-inelastic scattering data on longitudinally polarized hydrogen and deuterium targets have been used to determine double-spin asymmetries of cross sections. Inclusive and semi-inclusive asymmetries for the production of positive and negative pions from hydrogen were obtained in a reanalysis of previously published data. Inclusive and semi-inclusive asymmetries for the production of negative and positive pions and kaons were measured on a polarized deuterium target. The separate helicity densities for the up and down quarks and the anti-up, anti-down, and strange sea quarks were computed from these asymmetries in a “leading order” QCD analysis. The polarization of the up-quark is positive and that of the down-quark is negative. All extracted sea quark polarizations are consistent with zero, and the light quark sea helicity densities are flavor symmetric within the experimental uncertainties. First and second moments of the extracted quark helicity densities in the measured range are consistent with fits of inclusive data.

Single-spin asymmetries for semi-inclusive electroproduction of charged pions in deep-inelastic scattering of positrons are measured for the first time with transverse target polarization. The asymmetry depends on the azimuthal angles of both the pion (ϕ) and the target spin axis (ϕ_S) about the virtual-photon direction and relative to the lepton scattering plane. The extracted Fourier component ⟨sin⁡(ϕ+ϕ_S)⟩_UT^π is a signal of the previously unmeasured quark transversity distribution, in conjunction with the Collins fragmentation function, also unknown. The component ⟨sin⁡(ϕ-ϕ_S⟩_UT^π arises from a correlation between the transverse polarization of the target nucleon and the intrinsic transverse momentum of quarks, as represented by the previously unmeasured Sivers distribution function. Evidence for both signals is observed, but the Sivers asymmetry may be affected by exclusive vector meson production.

Double-spin asymmetries of semiinclusive cross sections for the production of identified pions and kaons have been measured in deep inelastic scattering of polarized positrons on a polarized deuterium target. Five helicity distributions including those for three sea quark flavors were extracted from these data together with reanalyzed previous data for identified pions from a hydrogen target. These distributions are consistent with zero for all three sea flavors. A recently predicted flavor asymmetry in the polarization of the light quark sea appears to be disfavored by the data.

Spin-dependent lepton-nucleon scattering data have been used to investigate the validity of the concept of quark-hadron duality for the spin asymmetry A₁. Longitudinally polarized positrons were scattered off a longitudinally polarized hydrogen target for values of Q² between 1.2 and 12  GeV² and values of W² between 1 and 4  GeV². The average double-spin asymmetry in the nucleon resonance region is found to agree with that measured in deep-inelastic scattering at the same values of the Bjorken scaling variable x. This finding implies that the description of A₁ in terms of quark degrees of freedom is valid also in the nucleon resonance region for values of Q² above 1.6  GeV².

Exclusive coherent and incoherent electroproduction of the ρ⁰ meson from ¹H and ¹⁴N targets has been studied at the HERMES experiment as a function of coherence length (l_c), corresponding to the lifetime of hadronic fluctuations of the virtual photon, and squared four-momentum of the virtual photon (-Q²). The ratio of ¹⁴N to ¹H cross sections per nucleon, called nuclear transparency, was found to increase (decrease) with increasing l_c for coherent (incoherent) ρ⁰ electroproduction. For fixed l_c, a rise of nuclear transparency with Q² is observed for both coherent and incoherent ρ⁰ production, which is in agreement with theoretical calculations of color transparency.

Spin transfer in deep-inelastic Λ electroproduction has been studied with the HERMES detector using the 27.6 GeV polarized positron beam in the DESY HERA storage ring. For an average fractional energy transfer 〈z〉=0.45, the longitudinal spin transfer from the virtual photon to the Λ has been extracted. The spin transfer along the Λ momentum direction is found to be 0.11±0.17(stat)±0.03(syst); similar values are found for other possible choices for the longitudinal spin direction of the Λ. This result is the most precise value obtained to date from deep-inelastic scattering with charged lepton beams, and is sensitive to polarized up quark fragmentation to hyperon states. The experimental result is found to be in general agreement with various models of the Λ spin content, and is consistent with the assumption of helicity conservation in the fragmentation process.

The beam-spin asymmetry in hard electroproduction of photons has been measured. The data have been accumulated by the HERMES experiment at DESY using the HERA 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized positron beam and an unpolarized hydrogen-gas target. The asymmetry in the azimuthal distribution of the produced photons in the angle φ relative to the lepton scattering plane was determined with respect to the helicity state of the incoming positron beam. The beam-spin analyzing power in the sinφ moment was measured to be -0.23±0.04(stat)±0.03(syst) in the missing-mass range below 1.7 GeV. The observed asymmetry is attributed to the interference of the Bethe-Heitler and deeply virtual Compton scattering processes.

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.

Single-spin asymmetries for semi-inclusive pion production in deep-inelastic scattering have been measured for the first time. A significant target-spin asymmetry of the distribution in the azimuthal angle φ of the pion relative to the lepton scattering plane was formed for π⁺ electroproduction on a longitudinally polarized hydrogen target. The corresponding analyzing power in the sinφ moment of the cross section is 0.022±0.005±0.003. This result can be interpreted as the effect of terms in the cross section involving chiral-odd spin distribution functions in combination with a chiral-odd fragmentation function that is sensitive to the transverse polarization of the fragmenting quark.

We present a measurement of the longitudinal spin asymmetry A_|| in photoproduction of pairs of hadrons with high transverse momentum p_T. Data were accumulated by the HERMES experiment using a 27.5 GeV polarized positron beam and a polarized hydrogen target internal to the HERA storage ring. For h⁺h^- pairs with p_T^h₁>1.5 GeV/c and p_T^h₂>1.0 GeV/c, the measured asymmetry is A_||  =  -0.28±0.12(stat)±0.02(syst). This negative value is in contrast to the positive asymmetries typically measured in deep inelastic scattering from protons, and is interpreted to arise from a positive gluon polarization.

Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the ρ⁰(770) meson from ¹H, ²H, ³He, and ¹⁴N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared four-momentum transfer Q²>0.4 GeV² and positron energy loss ν from 9 to 20 GeV. The ratio of the ¹⁴N to ¹H cross sections per nucleon, known as the nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear evidence of the interaction of the quark-antiquark fluctuations with the nuclear medium.

Spin-polarized atomic hydrogen is used as a gaseous polarized-proton target in high-energy and nuclear-physics experiments operating with internal beams in storage rings. When such beams are intense and bunched, this type of target can be depolarized by a resonant interaction with the transient magnetic field generated by the beam bunches. This effect has been studied with the HERA positron beam in the HERMES experiment at DESY. Resonances have been observed and a simple analytic model has been used to explain their shape and position. Operating conditions for the experiment have been found where there is no significant target depolarization due to this effect.

The flavor asymmetry of the light quark sea of the nucleon is determined in the kinematic range 0.02<x<0.3 and 1<Q²<10 GeV² for the first time from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering. The quantity [d̅ (x)-u̅ (x)]/[u(x)-d(x)] is derived from a relationship between the yields of positive and negative pions from unpolarized hydrogen and deuterium targets. The flavor asymmetry d̅ -u̅ is found to be nonzero and x dependent, showing an excess of d̅ over u̅ quarks in the proton.