The isospin structure of photoproduction of πη pairs from the nucleon in the threshold region

Photoproduction of πη -pairs from nucleons has been investigated from threshold up to incident photon energies of ≈ 1.4 GeV. The quasi-free reactions γp→pπ0η , γn→nπ0η , γp→nπ+η , and γn→pπ−η were for the first time measured from nucleons bound in the deuteron. The corresponding reactions from a free-proton target were also studied to investigate final-state interaction effects (for neutral pions the free-proton results could be compared to previous measurements; the γp→nπ+η reaction was measured for the first time). For the π0η final state coherent production via the γd→dπ0η reaction was also investigated. The experiments were performed at the tagged photon beam of the Mainz MAMI accelerator using an almost 4 π coverage electromagnetic calorimeter composed of the Crystal Ball and TAPS detectors. The total cross sections for the four different final states obey the relation σ(pπ0η)≈σ(nπ0η)≈2σ(pπ−η)≈2σ(nπ+η) as expected for a dominant contribution from a Δ⋆→ηΔ(1232)→πηN reaction chain, which is also supported by the shapes of the invariant-mass distributions of nucleon–meson and π – η pairs. The experimental results are compared to the predictions from an isobar reaction model

Spin alignment and violation of the OZI rule in exclusive ω and ϕ production in pp collisions

Exclusive production of the isoscalar vector mesons ω and ϕ is measured with a 190 GeV/c proton beam impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. Cross section ratios are determined in three intervals of the Feynman variable xF of the fast proton. A significant violation of the OZI rule is found, confirming earlier findings. Its kinematic dependence on xF and on the invariant mass MpV of the system formed by fast proton pfast and vector meson V is discussed in terms of diffractive production of pfastV resonances in competition with central production. The measurement of the spin density matrix element ρ00 of the vector mesons in different selected reference frames provides another handle to distinguish the contributions of these two major reaction types. Again, dependences of the alignment on xF and on MpV are found. Most of the observations can be traced back to the existence of several excited baryon states contributing to ω production which are absent in the case of the ϕ meson. Removing the low-mass MpV resonant region, the OZI rule is found to be violated by a factor of eight, independently of xF

Collins and Sivers asymmetries in muonproduction of pions and kaons off transversely polarised protons

Measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged pions and charged and neutral kaons produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of high energy muons off transversely polarised protons are presented. The results were obtained using all the available COMPASS proton data, which were taken in the years 2007 and 2010. The Collins asymmetries exhibit in the valence region a non-zero signal for pions and there are hints of non-zero signal also for kaons. The Sivers asymmetries are found to be positive for positive pions and kaons and compatible with zero otherwise

Search for exclusive photoproduction of Zc± (3900) at COMPASS

A search for the exclusive production of the Zc±(3900) hadron by virtual photons has been performed in the channel Zc±(3900)→J/ψπ± . The data cover the range from 7 GeV to 19 GeV in the centre-of-mass energy of the photon–nucleon system. The full set of the COMPASS data set collected with a muon beam between 2002 and 2011 has been used. An upper limit for the ratio BR(Zc±(3900)→J/ψπ±)×σγN→Zc±(3900)N/σγN→J/ψN of 3.7×10−3 has been established at the confidence level of 90%

Odd and even partial waves of ηπ− and η′π− in π−p→η(′)π−p at 191 GeV/c

Exclusive production of ηπ− and η′π− has been studied with a 191 GeV/c π− beam impinging on a hydrogen target at COMPASS (CERN). Partial-wave analyses reveal different odd/even angular momentum ( L ) characteristics in the inspected invariant mass range up to 3 GeV/c2 . A striking similarity between the two systems is observed for the L=2,4,6 intensities (scaled by kinematical factors) and the relative phases. The known resonances a2(1320) and a4(2040) are in line with this similarity. In contrast, a strong enhancement of η′π− over ηπ− is found for the L=1,3,5 waves, which carry non- qq¯ quantum numbers. The L=1 intensity peaks at 1.7 GeV/c2 in η′π− and at 1.4 GeV/c2 in ηπ− , the corresponding phase motions with respect to L=2 are different

Measurement of azimuthal hadron asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering off unpolarised nucleons

Spin-averaged asymmetries in the azimuthal distributions of positive and negative hadrons produced in deep inelastic scattering were measured using the CERN SPS longitudinally polarised muon beam at 160 GeV/c and a 6 LiD target. The amplitudes of the three azimuthal modulations cos⁡ϕh , cos⁡2ϕh and sin⁡ϕh were obtained binning the data separately in each of the relevant kinematic variables x , z or pTh and binning in a three-dimensional grid of these three variables. The amplitudes of the cos⁡ϕh and cos⁡2ϕh modulations show strong kinematic dependencies both for positive and negative hadrons

<math altimg="si1.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><mi>Λ</mi></math> and <math altimg="si2.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>Σ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup></math> photoproduction with fine center-of-mass energy resolution

Measurements of <math altimg="si3.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>γ</mi><mi>p</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><mi>Λ</mi></math> and <math altimg="si4.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>γ</mi><mi>p</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>Σ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup></math> cross-sections have been obtained with the photon tagging facility and the Crystal Ball calorimeter at MAMI-C. The measurement uses a novel <math altimg="si5.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math> meson identification technique in which the weak decay products are characterized using the energy and timing characteristics of the energy deposit in the calorimeter, a method that has the potential to be applied at many other facilities. The fine center-of-mass energy ( W ) resolution and statistical accuracy of the new data results in a significant impact on partial wave analyses aiming to better establish the excitation spectrum of the nucleon. The new analyses disfavor a strong role for quark–diquark dynamics in the nucleon