Search Results (36 total)

We investigated simultaneously the ¹²C(e,e^′p) and ¹²C(e,e^′pp) reactions at Q²=2  (GeV/c)², x_B=1.2, and in an (e, e^′p) missing-momentum range from 300 to 600  MeV/c. At these kinematics, with a missing momentum greater than the Fermi momentum of nucleons in a nucleus and far from the delta excitation, short-range nucleon-nucleon correlations are predicted to dominate the reaction. For (9.5±2)% of the ¹²C(e,e^′p) events, a recoiling partner proton was observed back-to-back to the ¹²C(e,e^′p) missing-momentum vector, an experimental signature of correlations.

An experiment measuring electroproduction of hypernuclei has been performed in hall A at Jefferson Lab on a ¹²C target. In order to increase counting rates and provide unambiguous kaon identification two superconducting septum magnets and a ring imaging Cherenkov detector were added to the hall A standard equipment. An unprecedented energy resolution of less than 700 keV FWHM has been achieved. Thus, the observed _Λ¹²B spectrum shows for the first time identifiable strength in the core-excited region between the ground-state s-wave Λ peak and the 11 MeV p-wave Λ peak.

We report new measurements of the parity-violating asymmetry A_PV in elastic scattering of 3 GeV electrons off hydrogen and ⁴He targets with ⟨θ_lab⟩≈6.0°. The ⁴He result is A_PV=(+6.40±0.23(stat)±0.12(syst))×10^-6. The hydrogen result is A_PV=(-1.58±0.12(stat)±0.04(syst))×10^-6. These results significantly improve constraints on the electric and magnetic strange form factors G_E^s and G_M^s. We extract G_E^s=0.002±0.014±0.007 at ⟨Q²⟩=0.077  GeV², and G_E^s+0.09G_M^s=0.007±0.011±0.006 at ⟨Q²⟩=0.109  GeV², providing new limits on the role of strange quarks in the nucleon charge and magnetization distributions.

This paper was published online on 20 May 2005 without several of the authors’ corrections incorporated. Equation (13) has been replaced. The captions of Figs. 16–18 have also been replaced. Typographical errors on pages 4, 6, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, and 24 have all been corrected. The paper has been corrected as of 8 June 2005. The text is correct in the printed version of the journal.

We have studied the quasielastic ³He(e,e^′p)²H reaction in perpendicular coplanar kinematics, with the energy and the momentum transferred by the electron fixed at 840 MeV and 1502  MeV/c, respectively. The ³He(e,e^′p)²H cross section was measured for missing momenta up to 1000  MeV/c, while the A_TL asymmetry was extracted for missing momenta up to 660  MeV/c. For missing momenta up to 150  MeV/c, the cross section is described by variational calculations using modern ³He wave functions. For missing momenta from 150 to 750  MeV/c, strong final-state interaction effects are observed. Near 1000  MeV/c, the experimental cross section is more than an order of magnitude larger than predicted by available theories. The A_TL asymmetry displays characteristic features of broken factorization with a structure that is similar to that generated by available models.

The ratio of the proton elastic electromagnetic form factors, G_Ep/G_Mp, was obtained by measuring P_t and P_ℓ, the transverse and longitudinal recoil proton polarization components, respectively, for the elastic e→p→ep→reaction in the four-momentum transfer squared range of 0.5 to 3.5  GeV². In the single-photon exchange approximation, G_Ep/G_Mp is directly proportional to P_t/P_ℓ. The simultaneous measurement of P_t and P_ℓ in a polarimeter reduces systematic uncertainties. The results for G_Ep/G_Mp show a systematic decrease with increasing Q², indicating for the first time a definite difference in the distribution of charge and magnetization in the proton. The data have been reanalyzed and their systematic uncertainties have become significantly smaller than those reported previously.

Results of the Jefferson Lab Hall A quasielastic ³He(e,e^′p)pn measurements are presented. These measurements were performed at fixed transferred momentum and energy, q=1502  MeV/c and ω=840  MeV, respectively, for missing momenta p_m up to 1  GeV/c and missing energies in the continuum region, up to pion threshold; this kinematic coverage is much more extensive than that of any previous experiment. The cross section data are presented along with the effective momentum density distribution and compared to theoretical models.

The generalized forward spin polarizabilities γ₀ and δ_LT of the neutron have been extracted for the first time in a Q² range from 0.1 to 0.9  GeV². Since γ₀ is sensitive to nucleon resonances and δ_LT is insensitive to the Δ resonance, it is expected that the pair of forward spin polarizabilities should provide benchmark tests of the current understanding of the chiral dynamics of QCD. The new results on δ_LT show significant disagreement with chiral perturbation theory calculations, while the data for γ₀ at low Q² are in good agreement with a next-to-leading-order relativistic baryon chiral perturbation theory calculation. The data show good agreement with the phenomenological MAID model.

The physics program in Hall A at Jefferson Lab commenced in the summer of 1997 with a detailed investigation of the ¹⁶O(e,e^′p) reaction in quasielastic, constant (q,ω) kinematics at Q²≈0.8  (GeV∕c)², q≈1  GeV∕c, and ω≈445  MeV. Use of a self-calibrating, self-normalizing, thin-film waterfall target enabled a systematically rigorous measurement. Five-fold differential cross-section data for the removal of protons from the 1p-shell have been obtained for 0<p_miss<350  MeV∕c. Six-fold differential cross-section data for 0<E_miss<120  MeV were obtained for 0<p_miss<340  MeV∕c. These results have been used to extract the A_LT asymmetry and the R_L, R_T, R_LT, and R_L+TT effective response functions over a large range of E_miss and p_miss. Detailed comparisons of the 1p-shell data with Relativistic Distorted-Wave Impulse Approximation (RDWIA), Relativistic Optical-Model Eikonal Approximation (ROMEA), and Relativistic Multiple-Scattering Glauber Approximation (RMSGA) calculations indicate that two-body currents stemming from meson-exchange currents (MEC) and isobar currents (IC) are not needed to explain the data at this Q². Further, dynamical relativistic effects are strongly indicated by the observed structure in A_LT at p_miss≈300  MeV∕c. For 25<E_miss<50  MeV and p_miss≈50  MeV∕c, proton knockout from the 1s_1∕2-state dominates, and ROMEA calculations do an excellent job of explaining the data. However, as p_miss increases, the single-particle behavior of the reaction is increasingly hidden by more complicated processes, and for 280<p_miss<340  MeV∕c, ROMEA calculations together with two-body currents stemming from MEC and IC account for the shape and transverse nature of the data, but only about half the magnitude of the measured cross section. For 50<E_miss<120  MeV and 145<p_miss<340  MeV∕c, (e,e^′pN) calculations which include the contributions of central and tensor correlations (two-nucleon correlations) together with MEC and IC (two-nucleon currents) account for only about half of the measured cross section. The kinematic consistency of the 1p-shell normalization factors extracted from these data with respect to all available ¹⁶O(e,e^′p) data is also examined in detail. Finally, the Q²-dependence of the normalization factors is discussed.

We report a virtual Compton scattering study of the proton at low c.m. energies. We have determined the structure functions P_LL-P_TT/ϵ and P_LT, and the electric and magnetic generalized polarizabilities (GPs) α_E(Q²) and β_M(Q²) at momentum transfer Q²=0.92 and 1.76  GeV². The electric GP shows a strong falloff with Q², and its global behavior does not follow a simple dipole form. The magnetic GP shows a rise and then a falloff; this can be interpreted as the dominance of a long-distance diamagnetic pion cloud at low Q², compensated at higher Q² by a paramagnetic contribution from πN intermediate states.

We have measured the parity-violating electroweak asymmetry in the elastic scattering of polarized electrons from protons. Significant contributions to this asymmetry could arise from the contributions of strange form factors in the nucleon. The measured asymmetry is A=−15.05±0.98(stat)±0.56(syst)  ppm at the kinematic point ⟨θ_lab⟩=12.3° and ⟨Q²⟩=0.477  (GeV∕c)². Based on these data as well as data on electromagnetic form factors, we extract the linear combination of strange form factors G_E^s+0.392G_M^s=0.014±0.020±0.010, where the first error arises from this experiment and the second arises from the electromagnetic form factor data. This paper provides a full description of the special experimental techniques employed for precisely measuring the small asymmetry, including the first use of a strained GaAs crystal and a laser-Compton polarimeter in a fixed target parity-violation experiment.

Exclusive electroproduction of π⁰ mesons on protons in the backward hemisphere has been studied at Q²=1.0  GeV² by detecting protons in the forward direction in coincidence with scattered electrons from the 4  GeV electron beam in Jefferson Lab’s Hall A. The data span the range of the total (γ*p) center-of-mass energy W from the pion production threshold to W=2.0  GeV. The differential cross sections σ_T+ϵσ_L, σ_TL, and σ_TT were separated from the azimuthal distribution and are presented together with the MAID and SAID parametrizations.

We have measured the spin structure functions g₁ and g₂ of ³He in a double-spin experiment by inclusively scattering polarized electrons at energies ranging from 0.862 to 5.058 GeV off a polarized ³He target at a 15.5° scattering angle. Excitation energies covered the resonance and the onset of the deep inelastic regions. We have determined for the first time the Q² evolution of Γ₁(Q²)=∫₀¹g₁(x,Q²)dx, Γ₂(Q²)=∫₀¹g₂(x,Q²)dx, and d₂(Q²)=∫₀¹x²[2g₁(x,Q²)+3g₂(x,Q²)]dx for the neutron in the range 0.1≤Q²≤0.9  GeV² with good precision. Γ₁(Q²) displays a smooth variation from high to low Q². The Burkhardt-Cottingham sum rule holds within uncertainties and d₂ is nonzero over the measured range.

We report measurements of cross sections for the reaction ¹H(e,e^′K⁺)Y, for both the Λ and Σ⁰ hyperon states, at an invariant mass of W=1.84 GeV and four-momentum transfers 0.5<Q²<2 (GeV/c)². Data were taken for three values of virtual photon polarization ε, allowing the decomposition of the cross sections into longitudinal and transverse components. The Λ data are a revised analysis of prior work, whereas the Σ⁰ results have not been previously reported.

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.

We present data on the inclusive scattering of polarized electrons from a polarized ³He target at energies from 0.862 to 5.06 GeV, obtained at a scattering angle of 15.5°. Our data include measurements from the quasielastic peak, through the nucleon resonance region, and beyond, and were used to determine the virtual photon cross-section difference σ_1/2-σ_3/2. We extract the extended Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral for the neutron in the range of four-momentum transfer squared Q² of 0.1–0.9   GeV².

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.

We measured the cross section and response functions for the quasielastic ¹⁶O(e,e^′p) reaction for missing energies 25≤E_m≤120 MeV at missing momenta P_m≤340 MeV/c. For 25<E_m<50 MeV and P_m≈60 MeV/c, the reaction is dominated by a single 1s_1/2 proton knockout. At larger P_m, the single-particle aspects are increasingly masked by more complicated processes. Calculations which include pion exchange currents, isobar currents, and short-range correlations account for the shape and the transversity, but for only half of the magnitude of the measured cross section.

Cross sections for the ³He(e,e^′pp)n reaction were measured over a wide range of energy and three-momentum transfer. At a momentum transfer q=375 MeV/c, data were taken at transferred energies ω ranging from 170 to 290 MeV. At ω=220 MeV, measurements were performed at three q values (305, 375, and 445 MeV/c). The results are presented as a function of the neutron momentum in the final state, as a function of the energy and momentum transfer, and as a function of the relative momentum of the two-proton system. The data at neutron momenta below 100 MeV/c, obtained for two values of the momentum transfer at ω=220 MeV, are well described by the results of continuum-Faddeev calculations. These calculations indicate that the cross section in this domain is dominated by direct two-proton emission induced by a one-body hadronic current. Cross section distributions determined as a function of the relative momentum of the two protons are fairly well reproduced by continuum-Faddeev calculations based on various realistic nucleon-nucleon potential models. At higher neutron momentum and at higher energy transfer, deviations between data and calculations are observed that may be due to contributions of isobar currents.

The first (e→,e^′p→) polarization transfer measurements on a nucleus heavier than deuterium have been carried out at Jefferson Laboratory. Transverse and longitudinal components of the polarization of protons ejected in the reaction ¹⁶O(e→,e^′p→ ) were measured in quasielastic perpendicular kinematics at a Q² of 0.8 (GeV/c)². The data are in good agreement with state of the art calculations.

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 have measured the cross section for quasielastic 1p-shell proton knockout in the ¹⁶O(e,e^′p) reaction at ω  =  0.439 GeV and Q²  =  0.8 (GeV/c)² for missing momentum P_miss≤355 MeV/c. We have extracted the response functions R_L+TT, R_T, R_LT, and the left-right asymmetry, A_LT, for the 1p_1/2 and the 1p_3/2 states. The data are well described by relativistic distorted wave impulse approximation calculations. At large P_miss, the structure observed in A_LT indicates the existence of dynamical relativistic effects.

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.