Search Results (23 total)

The polarized longitudinal-transverse structure function σ_LT^′ has been measured using the p(e⃗,e^′π⁺)n reaction in the Δ(1232) resonance region at Q²=0.40 and 0.65  GeV². No previous σ_LT^′ data exist for this reaction channel. The kinematically complete experiment was performed at the Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF large acceptance spectrometer using longitudinally polarized electrons at an energy of 1.515  GeV. A partial-wave analysis of the data shows generally better agreement with recent phenomenological models of pion electroproduction compared to the previously measured π⁰p channel. A fit to both π⁰p and π⁺n channels using a unitary isobar model suggests the unitarized Born terms provide a consistent description of the nonresonant background. The t-channel pion pole term is important in the π⁰p channel through a rescattering correction, which could be model dependent.

We report the first evidence for a nonzero beam-spin azimuthal asymmetry in the electroproduction of positive pions in the deep-inelastic kinematic region. Data for the reaction ep→e^′π⁺X have been obtained using a polarized electron beam of 4.3 GeV with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The amplitude of the sin φ modulation increases with the momentum of the pion relative to the virtual photon, z. In the range z=0.5–0.8 the average amplitude is 0.038±0.005±0.003 for a missing mass M_X>1.1 GeV and 0.037±0.007±0.004 for M_X>1.4 GeV.

High-statistics cross sections and recoil polarizations for the reactions γ+p→K⁺+Λ and γ+p→K⁺+Σ⁰ have been measured at CLAS for center-of-mass energies between 1.6 and 2.3  GeV. In the K⁺Λ channel we confirm a resonance-like structure near W=1.9  GeV at backward kaon angles. Our data show more complex s- and u- channel behavior than previously seen, since structure is also present at forward angles, but not at central angles. The position and width change with angle, indicating that more than one resonance is playing a role. Large positive Λ polarization at backward angles, which is also energy dependent, is consistent with sizable s- or u-channel contributions. Presently available model calculations cannot explain these aspects of the data.

We have measured the ³He(e,e^′pp)n reaction at 2.2 GeV over a wide kinematic range. The kinetic energy distribution for “fast” nucleons (p>250   MeV/c) peaks where two nucleons each have 20% or less, and the third nucleon has most of the transferred energy. These fast pp and pn pairs are back to back with little momentum along the three-momentum transfer, indicating that they are spectators. Calculations by Sargsian and by Laget also indicate that we have measured distorted two-nucleon momentum distributions by striking one nucleon and detecting the spectator correlated pair.

The reaction γp→π⁺K^-K⁺n was studied at Jefferson Laboratory using a tagged photon beam with an energy range of 3–5.47 GeV. A narrow baryon state with strangeness S=+1 and mass M=1555±10  MeV/c² was observed in the nK⁺ invariant mass spectrum. The peak’s width is consistent with the CLAS resolution (FWHM=26  MeV/c²), and its statistical significance is (7.8±1.0)σ. A baryon with positive strangeness has exotic structure and cannot be described in the framework of the naive constituent quark model. The mass of the observed state is consistent with the mass predicted by the chiral soliton model for the Θ⁺ baryon. In addition, the pK⁺ invariant mass distribution was analyzed in the reaction γp→K^-K⁺p with high statistics in search of doubly charged exotic baryon states. No resonance structures were found in this spectrum.

In an exclusive measurement of the reaction γd→K⁺K^-pn, a narrow peak that can be attributed to an exotic baryon with strangeness S=+1 is seen in the K⁺n invariant mass spectrum. The peak is at 1.542±0.005  GeV/c² with a measured width of 0.021  GeV/c² FWHM, which is largely determined by experimental mass resolution. The statistical significance of the peak is (5.2±0.6)σ. The mass and width of the observed peak are consistent with recent reports of a narrow S=+1 baryon by other experimental groups.

Double-polarization asymmetries for inclusive ep scattering were measured at Jefferson Lab using 2.6 and 4.3 GeV longitudinally polarized electrons incident on a longitudinally polarized NH₃ target in the CLAS detector. The polarized structure function g₁(x,Q²) was extracted throughout the nucleon resonance region and into the deep inelastic regime, for Q²=0.15–1.64   GeV². The contributions to the first moment Γ₁(Q²)=∫g₁(x,Q²) dx were determined up to Q²=1.2   GeV². Using a parametrization for g₁ in the unmeasured low x regions, the complete first moment was estimated over this Q² region. A rapid change in Γ₁ is observed for Q²<1   GeV², with a sign change near Q²=0.3   GeV², indicating dominant contributions from the resonance region. At Q²=1.2   GeV² our data are below the perturbative QCD evolved scaling value.

The polarized longitudinal-transverse structure function σ_LT^′ has been measured in the Δ(1232) resonance region at Q²=0.40 and 0.65 GeV². Data for the p(e→,e^′p)π⁰ reaction were taken at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF large acceptance spectrometer (CLAS) using longitudinally polarized electrons at an energy of 1.515 GeV. For the first time a complete angular distribution was measured, permitting the separation of different nonresonant amplitudes using a partial wave analysis. Comparison with previous beam asymmetry measurements at MAMI indicate a deviation from the predicted Q² dependence of σ_LT^′ using recent phenomenological models.

Measurements of the angular distributions of target and double-spin asymmetries for the Δ⁺(1232) in the exclusive channel p→(e→,e^′p)π⁰ obtained at the Jefferson Lab in the Q² range from 0.5 to 1.5 GeV²/c² are presented. Results of the asymmetries are compared with the unitary isobar model [D. Drechsel et al., Nucl. Phys. A645, 145 (1999)], dynamical models [T. Sato and T. S. Lee, Phys. Rev. C 54, 2660 (1996); S. S. Kamalov et al., Phys. Lett. B 27, 522 (2001)], and the effective Lagrangian theory [R. M. Davidson et al., Phys. Rev. D 43, 71 (1991)]. Sensitivity to the different models was observed, particularly in relation to the description of background terms on which the target asymmetry depends significantly.

The ratios of inclusive electron scattering cross sections of ⁴He, ¹²C, and ⁵⁶Fe to ³He have been measured for the first time. It is shown that these ratios are independent of x_B at Q²>1.4 GeV² for x_B>1.5, where the inclusive cross section depends primarily on the high momentum components of the nuclear wave function. The observed scaling shows that the momentum distributions at high-momenta have the same shape for all nuclei and differ only by a scale factor. The observed onset of the scaling at Q²>1.4 GeV² and x_B>1.5 is consistent with the kinematical expectation that two-nucleon short range correlations (SRC) dominate the nuclear wave function at p_m≳300 MeV/c. The values of these ratios in the scaling region can be related to the relative probabilities of SRC in nuclei with A>~3. Our data, combined with calculations and other measurements of the ³He/deuterium ratio, demonstrate that for nuclei with A>~12 these probabilities are 4.9–5.9 times larger than in deuterium, while for ⁴He it is larger by a factor of about 3.8.

The cross section for the reaction ep→e^′pπ⁺π^- was measured in the resonance region for 1.4<W<2.1  GeV and 0.5<Q²<1.5  GeV²/c² using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Laboratory. The data show resonant structures not visible in previous experiments. The comparison of our data to a phenomenological prediction using available information on N^* and Δ states shows an evident discrepancy. A better description of the data is obtained either by a sizable change of the properties of the P₁₃(1720) resonance or by introducing a new baryon state, not reported in published analyses.

We report the results of a new measurement of spin structure functions of the deuteron in the region of moderate momentum transfer [Q²=0.27–1.3 (GeV/c)²] and final hadronic state mass in the nucleon resonance region (W=1.08–2.0 GeV). We scattered a 2.5 GeV polarized continuous electron beam at Jefferson Lab off a dynamically polarized cryogenic solid state target (¹⁵ND₃) and detected the scattered electrons with the CEBAF large acceptance spectrometer. From our data, we extract the longitudinal double spin asymmetry A_|| and the spin structure function g₁^d. Our data are generally in reasonable agreement with existing data from SLAC where they overlap, and they represent a substantial improvement in statistical precision. We compare our results with expectations for resonance asymmetries and extrapolated deep inelastic scaling results. Finally, we evaluate the first moment of the structure function g₁^d and study its approach to both the deep inelastic limit at large Q² and to the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule at the real photon limit (Q²→0). We find that the first moment varies rapidly in the Q² range of our experiment and crosses zero at Q² between 0.5 and 0.8 (GeV/c)², indicating the importance of the Δ resonance at these momentum transfers.

We measured the inclusive electron-proton cross section in the nucleon resonance region (W<2.5 GeV) at momentum transfers Q² below 4.5 (GeV/c)² with the CLAS detector. The large acceptance of CLAS allowed the measurement of the cross section in a large, contiguous two-dimensional range of Q² and x, making it possible to perform an integration of the data at fixed Q² over the significant x interval. From these data we extracted the structure function F₂ and, by including other world data, we studied the Q² evolution of its moments, M_n(Q²), in order to estimate higher twist contributions. The small statistical and systematic uncertainties of the CLAS data allow a precise extraction of the higher twists and will require significant improvements in theoretical predictions if a meaningful comparison with these new experimental results is to be made.

The first measurements of the transferred polarization for the exclusive e→p→e^′K⁺Λ→ reaction have been performed at Jefferson Laboratory using the CLAS spectrometer. A 2.567 GeV beam was used to measure the hyperon polarization over Q² from 0.3 to 1.5   (GeV/c)², W from 1.6 to 2.15 GeV, and over the full K⁺ center-of-mass angular range. Comparison with predictions of hadrodynamic models indicates strong sensitivity to the underlying resonance contributions. A nonrelativistic quark-model interpretation of our data suggests that the ss̅ quark pair is produced with spins predominantly antialigned. Implications for the validity of the most widely used quark-pair creation operator are discussed.

The double spin asymmetry in the e→p→→e^′π⁺n reaction has been measured for the first time in the resonance region for four-momentum transfer Q²  =  0.35–1.5 GeV². Data were taken at Jefferson Lab with the CLAS detector using a 2.6 GeV polarized electron beam incident on a polarized solid NH₃ target. Comparison with predictions of phenomenological models shows strong sensitivity to resonance contributions. Helicity- 1/2 transitions are found to be dominant in the second and third resonance regions. The measured asymmetry is consistent with a faster rise with Q² of the helicity asymmetry A₁ for the F₁₅(1680) resonance than expected from the analysis of the unpolarized data.

We studied the exclusive reaction ep→e^′p^′φ using the φ→K⁺K^- decay mode. The data were collected using a 4.2 GeV incident electron beam and the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Our experiment covers the range in Q² from 0.7 to 2.2 GeV², and W from 2.0 to 2.6 GeV. Taken together with all previous data, we find a consistent picture of φ production on the proton. Our measurement shows the expected decrease of the t slope with the vector-meson formation time cΔτ below 2 fm. At 〈cΔτ〉=0.6 fm, we measure b_φ=2.27±0.42 GeV^-2. The cross section dependence on W as W^0.2±0.1 at Q²=1.3 GeV² was determined by comparison with φ production at HERA after correcting for threshold effects. This is the same dependence as observed in photoproduction.

We report the first results of the beam-spin asymmetry measured in the reaction e→p→epγ at a beam energy of 4.25 GeV. A large asymmetry with a sinφ modulation is observed, as predicted for the interference term of deeply virtual compton scattering (DVCS) and the Bethe-Heitler process. The amplitude of this modulation is α  =  0.202±0.028. In leading-order and leading-twist perturbative QCD, the α is directly proportional to the imaginary part of the DVCS amplitude.

The reaction ep→e^′K⁺Λ(1520) with Λ(1520)→p^′K^- was studied at electron beam energies of 4.05, 4.25, and 4.46 GeV, using the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The cos θ_K⁺, φ_K⁺, Q², and W dependencies of Λ(1520) electroproduction are presented for the kinematic region 0.9<Q²<2.4 GeV² and 1.95<W<2.65 GeV. Also, the Q² dependence of the Λ(1520) decay angular distribution is presented for the first time. The cos θ_K⁺ angular distributions suggest t-channel diagrams dominate the production process. Fits to the Λ(1520) t-channel helicity frame decay angular distributions indicate the m_z=±1 / 2 parentage accounts for about 60% of the total yield, which suggests this reaction has a significant contribution from t-channel processes with either K⁺ exchange or longitudinal coupling to an exchanged K^*. The Q² dependence of the Λ(1520) production cross section is the same as that observed for Λ(1116) photo- and electroproduction.

We studied the exclusive reaction ep→e^′p^′φ using the φ→K⁺K^- decay mode. The data were collected using a 4.2 GeV incident electron beam and the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Our experiment covers the range in Q² from 0.7 to 2.2 GeV², and W from 2.0 to 2.6 GeV. Taken together with all previous data, we find a consistent picture of φ production on the proton. Our measurement shows the expected decrease of the t slope with the vector-meson formation time cΔτ below 2 fm. At 〈cΔτ〉=0.6 fm, we measure b_φ=2.27±0.42 GeV^-2. The cross section dependence on W as W^0.2±0.1 at Q²=1.3 GeV² was determined by comparison with φ production at HERA after correcting for threshold effects. This is the same dependence as observed in photoproduction.

We present new Σ beam asymmetry data for η meson photoproduction on the proton, using a novel tagged, laser backscattered, linearly polarized photon beam up to 1.1 GeV. The data show large, positive asymmetries, at all incident photon energies. In addition to the S₁₁(1535) and D₁₃(1520) resonances necessary to reproduce the cross sections, P₁₃(1720) and D₁₅(1675) “four stars” resonances contribute to the Σ observable, but cannot reproduce the strong forward asymmetries measured at energies higher than 900 MeV.