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A. Asaturyan

Publications and source records attributed to A. Asaturyan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

ePIC Early Science Report

This Early Science Report from the ePIC Collaboration outlines the compelling physics program achievable during the first years of operation of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), prior to the establishment of the full design luminosity and energy range. The analyses are based on realistic early-running beam configurations and detailed Geant4 ePIC detector simulations, hit digitization and data reconstruction. The projected studies from the physics working groups of ePIC span inclusive, semi-inclusive, exclusive, diffractive and tagging, as well as jet and heavy flavor measurements in both electron-proton and electron-ion collisions. Even before the collider reaches its full design performance, these measurements will constrain parton distribution functions in nucleons and nuclei, access transverse-momentum-dependent and spin-dependent observables, probe gluon dynamics in nuclei, and initiate a program of imaging of quarks and gluons. Each measurement is directly connected to the core science pillars of the EIC, identified in the 2018 report by the National Academy of Sciences: understanding the origin of the nucleon mass, unraveling the spin structure of the nucleon, and exploring the emergent properties of dense gluonic matter. The results presented here provide examples that demonstrate that the early years of EIC running with ePIC will deliver novel world-leading insights into Quantum Chromodynamics. In addition, the early science program will establish measurement and analysis methodologies that will pave the way to the subsequent full EIC physics program.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2026

Investigation of Medium Modifications to $^{12}$C Structure Functions in the Resonance Region

We present results from a high precision experimental study of the nuclear modification of the longitudinal ($F_L$) to transverse ($F_1$) structure function ratio for bound nucleons in the resonance region. The inclusive electron scattering cross sections were measured in Jefferson Lab Experimental Hall C on carbon and deuterium nuclei for a large range of kinematics, allowing for separations of the longitudinal and transverse structure functions to be performed at a range of four-momentum transfer values $0.5 \le Q^2 \le$ 3.75 GeV$^2$. In contrast to the significant body of measurements of the nuclear modification of the $F_2$ structure function in the deep inelastic scattering region, there is very little on $F_L$ and $R = F_L / 2xF_1$ in the region of the nucleon resonances. In this paper we present measurements of the nuclear effect on $R$ for $^{12}$C ($R_C$) relative to deuterium ($R_D$). These results indicate regions in which in $R_C>R_D$, requiring that the nuclear modifications be different in all three structure functions, $F_2$, $F_1$ and $F_L$.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2026

Baryon-antibaryon photoproduction cross sections off the proton

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab has observed $p\bar{p}$ and, for the first time, $Λ\barΛ$ and $p\barΛ$ photoproduction from a proton target at photon energies up to 11.6 GeV. The angular distributions are forward peaked for all produced pairs, consistent with Regge-like $t$-channel exchange. Asymmetric wide-angle anti-baryon distributions show the presence of additional processes. In a phenomenological model, we find consistency with a double $t$-channel exchange process where anti-baryons are created only at the middle vertex. The model matches all observed distributions with a small number of free parameters. In the hyperon channels, we observe a clear distinction between photoproduction of the $Λ\barΛ$ and $p\barΛ$ systems but general similarity to the $p\bar{p}$ system. We report both total cross sections and cross sections differential with respect to momentum transfer and the invariant masses of the created particle pairs. No narrow resonant structures were found in these reaction channels. The suppression of $s\bar{s}$ quark pairs relative to $d\bar{d}$ quark pairs is similar to what has been seen in other reactions.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2025

The SHMS 11 GeV/c Spectrometer in Hall C at Jefferson Lab

The Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS) has been built for Hall C at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab). With a momentum capability reaching 11 GeV/c, the SHMS provides measurements of charged particles produced in electron-scattering experiments using the maximum available beam energy from the upgraded Jefferson Lab accelerator. The SHMS is an ion-optics magnetic spectrometer comprised of a series of new superconducting magnets which transport charged particles through an array of triggering, tracking, and particle-identification detectors that measure momentum, energy, angle and position in order to allow kinematic reconstruction of the events back to their origin at the scattering target. The detector system is protected from background radiation by a sophisticated shielding enclosure. The entire spectrometer is mounted on a rotating support structure which permits measurements to be taken with a large acceptance over laboratory scattering angles from 5.5 to 40 degrees, thus allowing a wide range of low cross-section experiments to be conducted. These experiments complement and extend the previous Hall C research program to higher energies.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2025

Light Monitoring System for the Lead Tungstate Calorimeter in Hall D at Jefferson Lab

A new electromagnetic calorimeter composed of 1596 lead tungstate (PbWO$_4$) scintillating crystals has been constructed for the GlueX detector in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. The calorimeter is equipped with a light monitoring system that uses light-emitting diodes. The light monitoring system was fabricated, installed, and integrated into the GlueX trigger system. It was successfully operated during detector commissioning and data collection. The paper describes the design, installation, and performance of the light monitoring system.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2025

Measurement of the Total Compton Scattering Cross Section between 6.5 and 11 GeV

The total cross section for Compton scattering off atomic electrons, $γ+e\rightarrowγ'+e'$, was measured using photons with energies between 6.5 and 11.1 GeV incident on a $^9$Be target as part of the PrimEx-eta experiment in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. This is the first measurement of this fundamental QED process within this energy range. The total uncertainties of the cross section, combining the statistical and systematic components in quadrature, averaged to 3.4% across all energy bins. This not only demonstrates the capability of this experimental setup to perform precision cross-section measurements at forward angles but also allows us to compare with state-of-the-art QED calculations.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2025

HRPPD photosensors for RICH detectors with a high resolution timing capability

Recently, a new version of DC-coupled High Rate Picosecond Photodetectors (DC-HRPPDs) substantially re-designed for use at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) has been developed. A first batch of seven 'EIC HRPPDs' was manufactured in early 2024. These HRPPDs are DC-coupled photosensors based on Micro-Channel Plates (MCPs) that have an active area of 104 mm by 104 mm, 32 x 32 direct readout pixel array at a pitch of 3.25 mm, peak quantum efficiency in excess of 30%, exceptionally low dark count rates and timing resolution of 15-20 ps for a single photon detection. As such, these photosensors are very well suited for Ring Imaging CHerenkov (RICH) detectors that can also provide high resolution timing capability, especially in a configuration where a detected charged particle passes through the sensor window, which produces a localized flash containing a few dozens of Cherenkov photons in it.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2025

Measurement of the Parity-Violating Asymmetry in the N to $Δ$ Transition at Low $Q^2$

We report the measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the N to $Δ$ transition via the $e^- + p \rightarrow e^- + Δ^+$ reaction at two different kinematic points with low four-momentum transfer Q$^2$. Measurements were made with incident electron beam energies of 0.877 and 1.16 GeV, corresponding to $Q^2$ values of 0.0111 and 0.0208 (GeV/c)$^2$, respectively. These measurements put constraints on a low-energy constant in the weak Lagrangian, $d_Δ$, corresponding to a parity-violating electric-dipole transition matrix element. This matrix element has been shown to be large in the strangeness-changing channel, via weak hyperon decays such as $Σ^+ \rightarrow pγ$. The measurements reported here constrain $d_Δ$ in the strangeness-conserving channel. The final asymmetries were -0.65 +- 1.00 (stat.) +- 1.02 (syst) ppm (parts per million) for 0.877 GeV and -3.59 +- 0.82 (stat.) +- 1.33 (syst.} ppm for 1.16 GeV. With these results we deduce a small value for $d_Δ$, consistent with zero, in the strangeness-conserving channel, in contrast to the large value for $d_Δ$ previously reported in the strangeness-changing channel.

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arXiv2025

Upper Limit on the Photoproduction Cross Section of the Spin-Exotic $π_1(1600)$

The spin-exotic hybrid meson $π_{1}(1600)$ is predicted to have a large decay rate to the $ωππ$ final state. Using 76.6~pb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the GlueX detector, we measure the cross sections for the reactions $γp \to ωπ^+ π^- p$, $γp \to ωπ^0 π^0 p$, and $γp\toωπ^-π^0Δ^{++}$ in the range $E_γ=$ 8-10 GeV. Using isospin conservation, we set the first upper limits on the photoproduction cross sections of the $π^{0}_{1}(1600)$ and $π^{-}_{1}(1600)$. We combine these limits with lattice calculations of decay widths and find that photoproduction of $η'π$ is the most sensitive two-body system to search for the $π_1(1600)$.

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arXiv2025

First Measurement of $a^0_2(1320)$ Polarized Photoproduction Cross Section

We measure for the first time the differential photoproduction cross section $dσ/dt$ of the $a_2(1320)$ meson at an average photon beam energy of 8.5~GeV, using data with an integrated luminosity of 104~pb$^{-1}$ collected by the GlueX experiment. We fully reconstruct the $γp \to ηπ^0 p$ reaction and perform a partial-wave analysis in the $a_2(1320)$ mass region with amplitudes that incorporate the linear polarization of the beam. This allows us to separate for the first time the contributions of natural- and unnatural-parity exchanges. These measurements provide novel information about the photoproduction mechanism, which is critical for the search for spin-exotic states.

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arXiv2024

First Measurement of Near- and Sub-Threshold $J/ψ$ Photoproduction off Nuclei

We report on the first measurement of $J/ψ$ photoproduction from nuclei in the photon energy range of $7$ to $10.8$ GeV, extending above and below the photoproduction threshold in the free proton of $\sim8.2$ GeV. The experiment used a tagged photon beam incident on deuterium, helium, and carbon, and the GlueX detector at Jefferson Lab to measure the semi-inclusive $A(γ,e^+e^-p)$ reaction with a dilepton invariant mass $M(e^+e^-)\sim m_{J/ψ}=3.1$ GeV. The incoherent $J/ψ$ photoproduction cross sections in the measured nuclei are extracted as a function of the incident photon energy, momentum transfer, and proton reconstructed missing light-cone momentum fraction. Comparisons with theoretical predictions assuming a dipole form factor allow extracting a gluonic radius for bound protons of $\sqrt{\langle r^2\rangle}=0.85\pm0.14$ fm. The data also suggest an excess of the measured cross section for sub-threshold production and for interactions with high missing light-cone momentum fraction protons. The measured enhancement can be explained by modified gluon structure for high-virtuality bound-protons.

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arXiv2024

Measurement of Spin-Density Matrix Elements in $Δ^{++}(1232)$ photoproduction

We measure the spin-density matrix elements (SDMEs) of the $Δ^{++}(1232)$ in the photoproduction reaction $γp \to π^-Δ^{++}(1232)$ with the GlueX experiment in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. The measurement uses a linearly--polarized photon beam with energies from $8.2$ to $8.8$~GeV and the statistical precision of the SDMEs exceeds the previous measurement by three orders of magnitude for the momentum transfer squared region below $1.4$ GeV$^2$. The data are sensitive to the previously undetermined relative sign between couplings in existing Regge-exchange models. Linear combinations of the extracted SDMEs allow for a decomposition into natural and unnatural--exchange amplitudes. We find that the unnatural exchange plays an important role in the low momentum transfer region.

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arXiv2024

Measurement of the J/$ψ$ photoproduction cross section over the full near-threshold kinematic region

We report the total and differential cross sections for $J/ψ$ photoproduction with the large acceptance GlueX spectrometer for photon beam energies from the threshold at 8.2~GeV up to 11.44~GeV and over the full kinematic range of momentum transfer squared, $t$. Such coverage facilitates the extrapolation of the differential cross sections to the forward ($t = 0$) point beyond the physical region. The forward cross section is used by many theoretical models and plays an important role in understanding $J/ψ$ photoproduction and its relation to the $J/ψ-$proton interaction. These measurements of $J/ψ$ photoproduction near threshold are also crucial inputs to theoretical models that are used to study important aspects of the gluon structure of the proton, such as the gluon Generalized Parton Distribution (GPD) of the proton, the mass radius of the proton, and the trace anomaly contribution to the proton mass. We observe possible structures in the total cross section energy dependence and find evidence for contributions beyond gluon exchange in the differential cross section close to threshold, both of which are consistent with contributions from open-charm intermediate states.

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arXiv2024

Measurement of Spin-Density Matrix Elements in $ρ(770)$ Production with a Linearly Polarized Photon Beam at $E_γ= 8.2\,-\,8.8\,\text{GeV}$

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab studies photoproduction of mesons using linearly polarized $8.5\,\text{GeV}$ photons impinging on a hydrogen target which is contained within a detector with near-complete coverage for charged and neutral particles. We present measurements of spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of the vector meson $ρ$(770). The statistical precision achieved exceeds that of previous experiments for polarized photoproduction in this energy range by orders of magnitude. We confirm a high degree of $s$-channel helicity conservation at small squared four-momentum transfer $t$ and are able to extract the $t$-dependence of natural and unnatural-parity exchange contributions to the production process in detail. We confirm the dominance of natural-parity exchange over the full $t$ range. We also find that helicity amplitudes in which the helicity of the incident photon and the photoproduced $ρ(770)$ differ by two units are negligible for $-t<0.5\,\text{GeV}^{2}/c^{2}$.

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arXiv2023

Strong Interaction Physics at the Luminosity Frontier with 22 GeV Electrons at Jefferson Lab

This document presents the initial scientific case for upgrading the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab) to 22 GeV. It is the result of a community effort, incorporating insights from a series of workshops conducted between March 2022 and April 2023. With a track record of over 25 years in delivering the world's most intense and precise multi-GeV electron beams, CEBAF's potential for a higher energy upgrade presents a unique opportunity for an innovative nuclear physics program, which seamlessly integrates a rich historical background with a promising future. The proposed physics program encompass a diverse range of investigations centered around the nonperturbative dynamics inherent in hadron structure and the exploration of strongly interacting systems. It builds upon the exceptional capabilities of CEBAF in high-luminosity operations, the availability of existing or planned Hall equipment, and recent advancements in accelerator technology. The proposed program cover various scientific topics, including Hadron Spectroscopy, Partonic Structure and Spin, Hadronization and Transverse Momentum, Spatial Structure, Mechanical Properties, Form Factors and Emergent Hadron Mass, Hadron-Quark Transition, and Nuclear Dynamics at Extreme Conditions, as well as QCD Confinement and Fundamental Symmetries. Each topic highlights the key measurements achievable at a 22 GeV CEBAF accelerator. Furthermore, this document outlines the significant physics outcomes and unique aspects of these programs that distinguish them from other existing or planned facilities. In summary, this document provides an exciting rationale for the energy upgrade of CEBAF to 22 GeV, outlining the transformative scientific potential that lies within reach, and the remarkable opportunities it offers for advancing our understanding of hadron physics and related fundamental phenomena.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2023

Constraints on the onset of color transparency from quasi-elastic $^{12}$C$(e,e'p)$ up to $Q^2=\,14.2\,$(GeV$/c)^2$

Quasi-elastic scattering on $^{12}$C$(e,e'p)$ was measured in Hall C at Jefferson Lab for space-like 4-momentum transfer squared $Q^2$ in the range of 8--14.2\,(GeV/$c$)$^2$ with proton momenta up to 8.3\,GeV/$c$. The experiment was carried out in the upgraded Hall C at Jefferson Lab. It used the existing high momentum spectrometer and the new super high momentum spectrometer to detect the scattered electrons and protons in coincidence. The nuclear transparency was extracted as the ratio of the measured yield to the yield calculated in the plane wave impulse approximation. Additionally, the transparency of the $1s_{1/2}$ and $1p_{3/2}$ shell protons in $^{12}$C was extracted, and the asymmetry of the missing momentum distribution was examined for hints of the quantum chromodynamics prediction of Color Transparency. All of these results were found to be consistent with traditional nuclear physics and inconsistent with the onset of Color Transparency.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2023

First Measurement of the EMC Effect in $^{10}$B and $^{11}$B

The nuclear dependence of the inclusive inelastic electron scattering cross section (the EMC effect) has been measured for the first time in $^{10}$B and $^{11}$B. Previous measurements of the EMC effect in $A \leq 12$ nuclei showed an unexpected nuclear dependence; $^{10}$B and $^{11}$B were measured to explore the EMC effect in this region in more detail. Results are presented for $^9$Be, $^{10}$B, $^{11}$B, and $^{12}$C at an incident beam energy of 10.6~GeV. The EMC effect in the boron isotopes was found to be similar to that for $^9$Be and $^{12}$C, yielding almost no nuclear dependence in the EMC effect in the range $A=4-12$. This represents important, new data supporting the hypothesis that the EMC effect depends primarily on the local nuclear environment due to the cluster structure of these nuclei.

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arXiv2023

The Present and Future of QCD

This White Paper presents the community inputs and scientific conclusions from the Hot and Cold QCD Town Meeting that took place September 23-25, 2022 at MIT, as part of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) 2023 Long Range Planning process. A total of 424 physicists registered for the meeting. The meeting highlighted progress in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) nuclear physics since the 2015 LRP (LRP15) and identified key questions and plausible paths to obtaining answers to those questions, defining priorities for our research over the coming decade. In defining the priority of outstanding physics opportunities for the future, both prospects for the short (~ 5 years) and longer term (5-10 years and beyond) are identified together with the facilities, personnel and other resources needed to maximize the discovery potential and maintain United States leadership in QCD physics worldwide. This White Paper is organized as follows: In the Executive Summary, we detail the Recommendations and Initiatives that were presented and discussed at the Town Meeting, and their supporting rationales. Section 2 highlights major progress and accomplishments of the past seven years. It is followed, in Section 3, by an overview of the physics opportunities for the immediate future, and in relation with the next QCD frontier: the EIC. Section 4 provides an overview of the physics motivations and goals associated with the EIC. Section 5 is devoted to the workforce development and support of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is followed by a dedicated section on computing in Section 6. Section 7 describes the national need for nuclear data science and the relevance to QCD research.

hep-ph↗