Polarization Observables for Kaon Photoproduction from Polarized Protons

Abstract

The search for undiscovered excited states of the nucleon continues to be a focus of experiments at Jefferson Lab.Recent LQCD calculations have confirmed long-standing quark-model predictions of many more states than have so far been identified.A large effort for the N-star program has been launched using the CLAS detector to provide the database that will allow nearly model-independent partial wave analyses to be carried out in the search for such states. Polarization observables play a crucial role in this effort, as they are essential in disentangling overlapping resonant and non-resonant amplitudes. In 2010, double-polarization data were taken at JLab using circularly polarized photons incident on a transversely polarized frozen-spin butanol target. Our current analysis yields preliminary data of the T and F asymmetries for kaon photoproduction final states, which are compared to predictions of recent multipole analyses. This work is the first of its kind and will significantly broaden the world database for these reactions.