Photoproduction of the ρ0 Meson on the Proton at Large Momentum Transfer

The differential cross section, dσ/dt, for ρ0 meson photoproduction on the proton above the resonance region was measured up to a momentum transfer −t=5GeV2 using the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The ρ0 channel was extracted from the measured two charged-pion cross sections by fitting the π+π− and pπ+ invariant masses. The low momentum transfer region shows the typical diffractive pattern expected from Reggeon exchange. The flatter behavior at large −t cannot be explained solely in terms of QCD-inspired two-gluon exchange models. The data indicate that other processes, like quark interchange, are important to fully describe ρ photoproduction

Photoproduction of the ω Meson on the Proton at Large Momentum Transfer

The differential cross section, dσ/dt, for ω meson exclusive photoproduction on the proton above the resonance region (2.

Photoproduction of pi(+)pi(-) meson pairs on the proton

The exclusive reaction γp→pπ+π− was studied in the photon energy range 3.0–3.8 GeV and the momentum transfer range 0.4\u3c−t\u3c1.0  GeV2. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. In this kinematic range, the integrated luminosity was about 20  pb−1. The reaction was isolated by detecting the π+ and proton in CLAS, and reconstructing the π− via the missing-mass technique. Moments of the di-pion decay angular distributions were derived from the experimental data. Differential cross sections for the S, P, and D-waves, in the Mπ+π− mass range 0.4–1.4 GeV, were derived performing a partial wave expansion of the extracted moments. Beside the dominant contribution of the ρ(770) meson in the P-wave, evidence for the f0(980) and the f2(1270) mesons was found in the S and D-waves, respectively. The differential production cross sections dσ/dt for individual waves in the mass range of the above-mentioned mesons were extracted. This is the first time the f0(980) has been measured in a photoproduction experiment

Measurement of Direct f0(980) Photoproduction on the Proton

We report on the results of the first measurement of exclusive f0(980) meson photoproduction on protons for Eγ=3.0–3.8  GeV and −t=0.4–1.0  GeV2. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The resonance was detected via its decay in the π+π− channel by performing a partial wave analysis of the reaction γp→pπ+π−. Clear evidence of the f0(980) meson was found in the interference between P and S waves at Mx+x~1  GeV. The S-wave differential cross section integrated in the mass range of the f0(980) was found to be a factor of about 50 smaller than the cross section for the ƿ meson. This is the first time the f0(980) meson has been measured in a photoproduction experiment

The proton structure function F2 in the resonance region

Unique measurement of the proton structure function F2 in a wide two-dimensional region of x and Q**2 has been reported. The accessible kinematics covers entire resonance region up to W=2.5 GeV in the Q**2 interval from 0.1 to 4.5 GeV**2. Obtained data allowed for the first time an evaluation of moments of the structure function F2 directly from experimental data as well as an intensive study of the Bloom-Gilman duality phenomenon.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of GDH2002 Conference, 3-6 July 2002, Genova, Italy, to be published in World Scientifi

Pentaquarks: review of the experimental evidence

Pentaquarks, namely baryons made by 4 quarks and one antiquark have been predicted and searched for since several decades without success. Theoretical and experimental advances in the last 2 years led to the observation of a number of pentaquark candidates. We review the experimental evidence for pentaquarks as well as their non-observations by some experiments, and discuss to which extend these sometimes contradicting informations may lead to a consistent picture.Comment: Contribution to the International Conference on 'Strangeness in Quark Matter', 15-21 Sept. 2004, Cape Tawn, South Afric

Photoproduction of K+ K- Meson Pairs on the Proton

The exclusive reaction γp → pK+K− was studied in the photon energy range 3.0–3.8 GeV and momentum transfer range 0.6 \u3c −t\u3c 1.3 GeV2. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. In this kinematic range the integrated luminosity was approximately 20 pb−1. The reaction was isolated by detecting the K+ and the proton in CLAS, and reconstructing the K− via the missing-mass technique. Moments of the dikaon decay angular distributions were extracted from the experimental data. Besides the dominant contribution of the ϕ meson in the P wave, evidence for S − P interference was found. The differential production cross sections dσ=dt for individual waves in the mass range of the ϕ resonance were extracted and compared to predictions of a Regge-inspired model. This is the first time the t-dependent cross section of the S-wave contribution to the elastic K+K− photoproduction has been measured

First CLAS12 Measurement of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering Beam-Spin Asymmetries in the Extended Valence Region

Deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) allows one to probe generalized parton distributions describing the 3D structure of the nucleon. We report the first measurement of the DVCS beam-spin asymmetry using the CLAS12 spectrometer with a 10.2 and 10.6 GeV electron beam scattering from unpolarized protons. The results greatly extend the Q2 and Bjorken-x phase space beyond the existing data in the valence region and provide 1600 new data points measured with unprecedented statistical uncertainty, setting new, tight constraints for future phenomenological studies

First Measurement of Λ Electroproduction off Nuclei in the Current and Target Fragmentation Regions

We report results of Λ hyperon production in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering off deuterium, carbon, iron, and lead targets obtained with the CLAS detector and the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility 5.014 GeV electron beam. These results represent the first measurements of the Λ multiplicity ratio and transverse momentum broadening as a function of the energy fraction (z) in the current and target fragmentation regions. The multiplicity ratio exhibits a strong suppression at high zand an enhancement at low z. The measured transverse momentum broadening is an order of magnitude greater than that seen for light mesons. This indicates that the propagating entity interacts very strongly with the nuclear medium, which suggests that propagation of diquark configurations in the nuclear medium takes place at least part of the time, even at high z. The trends of these results are qualitatively described by the Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck transport model, particularly for the multiplicity ratios. These observations will potentially open a new era of studies of the structure of the nucleon as well as of strange baryons