arXiv subjects

C. E. Keppel

Publications and source records attributed to C. E. Keppel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Direct observation of quark-hadron duality in the free neutron F_2 structure function

Using data from the recent BONuS experiment at Jefferson Lab, which utilized a novel spectator tagging technique to extract the inclusive electron-free neutron scattering cross section, we obtain the first direct observation of quark-hadron duality in the neutron F_2 structure function. The data are used to reconstruct the lowest few (N=2, 4 and 6) moments of F_2 in the three prominent nucleon resonance regions, as well as the moments integrated over the entire resonance region. Comparison with moments computed from global parametrizations of parton distribution functions suggest that quark--hadron duality holds locally for the neutron in the second and third resonance regions down to Q^2 ~ 1 GeV^2, with violations possibly up to 20% observed in the first resonance region.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Separated Response Functions in Exclusive, Forward $π^{\pm}$ Electroproduction on Deuterium

Background: Measurements of forward exclusive meson production at different squared four-momenta of the exchanged virtual photon, $Q^2$, and at different four-momentum transfer, t, can be used to probe QCD's transition from meson-nucleon degrees of freedom at long distances to quark-gluon degrees of freedom at short scales. Ratios of separated response functions in $π^-$ and $π^+$ electroproduction are particularly informative. The ratio for transverse photons may allow this transition to be more easily observed, while the ratio for longitudinal photons provides a crucial verification of the assumed pole dominance, needed for reliable extraction of the pion form factor from electroproduction data. Method: Data were acquired with 2.6-5.2 GeV electron beams and the HMS+SOS spectrometers in Jefferson Lab Hall C, at central $Q^2$ values of 0.6, 1.0, 1.6 GeV$^2$ at W=1.95 GeV, and $Q^2$=2.45 GeV$^2$ at W=2.22 GeV. There was significant coverage in $ϕ$ and $ε$, which allowed separation of $σ_{L,T,LT,TT}$. Results: $σ_L$ shows a clear signature of the pion pole, with a sharp rise at small -t. In contrast, $σ_T$ is much flatter versus t. The longitudinal/transverse ratios evolve with $Q^2$ and t, and at the highest $Q^2$=2.45 GeV$^2$ show a slight enhancement for $π^-$ production compared to $π^+$. The $π^-/π^+$ ratio for transverse photons exhibits only a small $Q^2$-dependence, following a nearly universal curve with t, with a steep transition to a value of about 0.25, consistent with s-channel quark knockout. The $σ_{TT}/σ_T$ ratio also drops rapidly with $Q^2$, qualitatively consistent with s-channel helicity conservation. The $π^-/π^+$ ratio for longitudinal photons indicates a small isoscalar contamination at W=1.95 GeV, consistent with what was observed in our earlier determination of the pion form factor at these kinematics.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the structure function of the nearly free neutron using spectator tagging in inelastic $^2$H(e, e'p)X scattering with CLAS

Much less is known about neutron structure than that of the proton due to the absence of free neutron targets. Neutron information is usually extracted from data on nuclear targets such as deuterium, requiring corrections for nuclear binding and nucleon off-shell effects. These corrections are model dependent and have significant uncertainties, especially for large values of the Bjorken scaling variable x. The Barely Off-shell Nucleon Structure (BONuS) experiment at Jefferson Lab measured the inelastic electron deuteron scattering cross section, tagging spectator protons in coincidence with the scattered electrons. This method reduces nuclear binding uncertainties significantly and has allowed for the first time a (nearly) model independent extraction of the neutron structure function. A novel compact radial time projection chamber was built to detect protons with momentum between 70 and 150 MeV/c. For the extraction of the free neutron structure function $F_{2n}$, spectator protons at backward angle and with momenta below 100 MeV/c were selected, ensuring that the scattering took place on a nearly free neutron. The scattered electrons were detected with Jefferson Lab's CLAS spectrometer. The extracted neutron structure function $F_{2n}$ and its ratio to the deuteron structure function $F_{2d}$ are presented in both the resonance and deep inelastic regions. The dependence of the cross section on the spectator proton momentum and angle is investigated, and tests of the spectator mechanism for different kinematics are performed. Our data set can be used to study neutron resonance excitations, test quark hadron duality in the neutron, develop more precise parametrizations of structure functions, as well as investigate binding effects (including possible mechanisms for the nuclear EMC effect) and provide a first glimpse of the asymptotic behavior of d/u as x goes to 1.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the Spectral Function of $^{40}$Ar through the $(e,e^\prime p)$ reaction

The interpretation of the signals detected by high precision experiments aimed at measuring neutrino oscillations requires an accurate description of the neutrino-nucleus cross sections. One of the key element of the analysis is the treatment of nuclear effects, which is one of the main sources of systematics for accelerator based experiments such as the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE). A considerable effort is currently being made to develop theoretical models capable of providing a fully quantitative description of the neutrino-nucleus cross sections in the kinematical regime relevant to LBNE. The approach based on nuclear many-body theory and the spectral function formalism has proved very successful in explaining the available electron scattering data in a variety of kinematical conditions. The first step towards its application to the analysis of neutrino data is the derivation of the spectral functions of nuclei employed in neutrino detectors, in particular argon. We propose a measurement of the coincidence $(e,e^\prime p)$ cross section on argon. This data will provide the experimental input indispensable to construct the argon spectral function, thus paving the way for a reliable estimate of the neutrino cross sections. In addition, the analysis of the $(e,e^\prime p)$ data will help a number of theoretical developments, like the description of final-state interactions needed to isolate the initial-state contributions to the observed single-particle peaks, that is also needed for the interpretation of the signal detected in neutrino experiments.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Separated Response Function Ratios in Exclusive, Forward pi^{+/-} Electroproduction

The study of exclusive $π^{\pm}$ electroproduction on the nucleon, including separation of the various structure functions, is of interest for a number of reasons. The ratio $R_L=σ_L^{π^-}/σ_L^{π^+}$ is sensitive to isoscalar contamination to the dominant isovector pion exchange amplitude, which is the basis for the determination of the charged pion form factor from electroproduction data. A change in the value of $R_T=σ_T^{π^-}/σ_T^{π^+}$ from unity at small $-t$, to 1/4 at large $-t$, would suggest a transition from coupling to a (virtual) pion to coupling to individual quarks. Furthermore, the mentioned ratios may show an earlier approach to pQCD than the individual cross sections. We have performed the first complete separation of the four unpolarized electromagnetic structure functions above the dominant resonances in forward, exclusive $π^{\pm}$ electroproduction on the deuteron at central $Q^2$ values of 0.6, 1.0, 1.6 GeV$^2$ at $W$=1.95 GeV, and $Q^2=2.45$ GeV$^2$ at $W$=2.22 GeV. Here, we present the $L$ and $T$ cross sections, with emphasis on $R_L$ and $R_T$, and compare them with theoretical calculations. Results for the separated ratio $R_L$ indicate dominance of the pion-pole diagram at low $-t$, while results for $R_T$ are consistent with a transition between pion knockout and quark knockout mechanisms.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of Muon Antineutrino Quasi-Elastic Scattering on a Hydrocarbon Target at E_ν ~ 3.5 GeV

We have isolated muon anti-neutrino charged-current quasi-elastic interactions occurring in the segmented scintillator tracking region of the MINERvA detector running in the NuMI neutrino beam at Fermilab. We measure the flux-averaged differential cross-section, dσ/dQ^2, and compare to several theoretical models of quasi-elastic scattering. Good agreement is obtained with a model where the nucleon axial mass, M_A, is set to 0.99 GeV/c^2 but the nucleon vector form factors are modified to account for the observed enhancement, relative to the free nucleon case, of the cross-section for the exchange of transversely polarized photons in electron-nucleus scattering. Our data at higher Q^2 favor this interpretation over an alternative in which the axial mass is increased.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of Muon Neutrino Quasi-Elastic Scattering on a Hydrocarbon Target at E_ν ~ 3.5 GeV

We report a study of muon neutrino charged-current quasi-elastic events in the segmented scintillator inner tracker of the MINERvA experiment running in the NuMI neutrino beam at Fermilab. The events were selected by requiring a μ^- and low calorimetric recoil energy separated from the interaction vertex. We measure the flux-averaged differential cross-section, dσ/dQ^2, and study the low energy particle content of the final state. Deviations are found between the measured dσ/dQ^2 and the expectations of a model of independent nucleons in a relativistic Fermi gas. We also observe an excess of energy near the vertex consistent with multiple protons in the final state.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2013

Measurement of R = sigma_L / sigma_T and the Separated Longitudinal and Transverse Structure Functions in the Nucleon Resonance Region

We report on a detailed study of longitudinal strength in the nucleon resonance region, presenting new results from inclusive electron-proton cross sections measured at Jefferson Lab Hall C in the four-momentum transfer range 0.2 < Q^2 < 5.5 GeV^2. The data have been used to accurately perform 167 Rosenbluth-type longitudinal / transverse separations. The precision R = sigma_L / sigma_T data are presented here, along with the first separate values of the inelastic structure functions F_1 and F_L in this regime. The resonance longitudinal component is found to be significant, both in magnitude and in the existence of defined mass peaks. Additionally, quark-hadron duality is here observed above Q^2 = 1 GeV^2 in the separated structure functions independently.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

Moments of the longitudinal proton structure function F_L from global data in the Q^2 range 0.75-45.0 (GeV/c)^2

We present an extraction of the lowest three moments of the proton longitudinal structure function F_L from world data between Q^2 = 0.75 and 45 (GeV/c)^2. The availability of new F_L data at low Bjorken x from HERA and at large x from Jefferson Lab allows the first determination of these moments over a large Q^2 range, relatively free from uncertainties associated with extrapolations into unmeasured regions. The moments are found to be underestimated by leading twist structure function parameterizations, especially for the higher moments, suggesting either the presence of significant higher twist effects in F_L and/or a larger gluon distribution at high x.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

Measurement of the neutron F2 structure function via spectator tagging with CLAS

We report on the first measurement of the F2 structure function of the neutron from semi-inclusive scattering of electrons from deuterium, with low-momentum protons detected in the backward hemisphere. Restricting the momentum of the spectator protons to < 100 MeV and their angles to < 100 degrees relative to the momentum transfer allows an interpretation of the process in terms of scattering from nearly on-shell neutrons. The F2n data collected cover the nucleon resonance and deep-inelastic regions over a wide range of Bjorken x for 0.65 < Q2 < 4.52 GeV2, with uncertainties from nuclear corrections estimated to be less than a few percent. These measurements provide the first determination of the neutron to proton structure function ratio F2n/F2p at 0.2 < x < 0.8 with little uncertainty due to nuclear effects.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

The lead-glass electromagnetic calorimeters for the magnetic spectrometers in Hall C at Jefferson Lab

The electromagnetic calorimeters of the various magnetic spectrometers in Hall C at Jefferson Lab are presented. For the existing HMS and SOS spectrometers design considerations, relevant construction information, and comparisons of simulated and experimental results are included. The energy resolution of the HMS and SOS calorimeters is better than $σ/E \sim 6%/\sqrt E $, and pion/electron ($π/e$) separation of about 100:1 has been achieved in energy range 1 -- 5 GeV. Good agreement has been observed between the experimental and simulated energy resolutions, but simulations systematically exceed experimentally determined $π^-$ suppression factors by close to a factor of two. For the SHMS spectrometer presently under construction details on the design and accompanying GEANT4 simulation efforts are given. The anticipated performance of the new calorimeter is predicted over the full momentum range of the SHMS. Good electron/hadron separation is anticipated by combining the energy deposited in an initial (preshower) calorimeter layer with the total energy deposited in the calorimeter.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2012

New measurements of high-momentum nucleons and short-range structures in nuclei

We present new measurements of electron scattering from high-momentum nucleons in nuclei. These data allow an improved determination of the strength of two-nucleon correlations for several nuclei, including light nuclei where clustering effects can, for the first time, be examined. The data also include the kinematic region where three-nucleon correlations are expected to dominate.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Semi-Inclusive Charged-Pion Electroproduction off Protons and Deuterons: Cross Sections, Ratios and Access to the Quark-Parton Model at Low Energies

A large set of cross sections for semi-inclusive electroproduction of charged pions ($π^\pm$) from both proton and deuteron targets was measured. The data are in the deep-inelastic scattering region with invariant mass squared $W^2$ > 4 GeV$^2$ and range in four-momentum transfer squared $2 < Q^2 < 4$ (GeV/c)$^2$, and cover a range in the Bjorken scaling variable 0.2 < x < 0.6. The fractional energy of the pions spans a range 0.3 < z < 1, with small transverse momenta with respect to the virtual-photon direction, $P_t^2 < 0.2$ (GeV/c)$^2$. The invariant mass that goes undetected, $M_x$ or W', is in the nucleon resonance region, W' < 2 GeV. The new data conclusively show the onset of quark-hadron duality in this process, and the relation of this phenomenon to the high-energy factorization ansatz of electron-quark scattering and subsequent quark --> pion production mechanisms. The x, z and $P_t^2$ dependences of several ratios (the ratios of favored-unfavored fragmentation functions, charged pion ratios, deuteron-hydrogen and aluminum-deuteron ratios for $π^+$ and $π^-$) have been studied. The ratios are found to be in good agreement with expectations based upon a high-energy quark-parton model description. We find the azimuthal dependences to be small, as compared to exclusive pion electroproduction, and consistent with theoretical expectations based on tree-level factorization in terms of transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution and fragmentation functions. In the context of a simple model, the initial transverse momenta of $d$ quarks are found to be slightly smaller than for $u$ quarks, while the transverse momentum width of the favored fragmentation function is about the same as for the unfavored one, and both fragmentation widths are larger than the quark widths.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Nuclear transparency and effective kaon-nucleon cross section from the A(e, e'K+) reaction

We have determined the transparency of the nuclear medium to kaons from $A(e,e^{'} K^{+})$ measurements on $^{12}$C, $^{63}$Cu, and $^{197}$Au targets. The measurements were performed at the Jefferson Laboratory and span a range in four-momentum-transfer squared Q$^2$=1.1 -- 3.0 GeV$^2$. The nuclear transparency was defined as the ratio of measured kaon electroproduction cross sections with respect to deuterium, ($σ^{A}/σ^{D}$). We further extracted the atomic number ($A$) dependence of the transparency as parametrized by $T= (A/2)^{α-1}$ and, within a simple model assumption, the in-medium effective kaon-nucleon cross sections. The effective cross sections extracted from the electroproduction data are found to be smaller than the free cross sections determined from kaon-nucleon scattering experiments, and the parameter $α$ was found to be significantly larger than those obtained from kaon-nucleus scattering. We have included similar comparisons between pion- and proton-nucleon effective cross sections as determined from electron scattering experiments, and pion-nucleus and proton-nucleus scattering data.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Uncertainties in determining parton distributions at large x

We critically examine uncertainties in parton distribution functions (PDFs) at large x arising from nuclear effects in deuterium F2 structure function data. Within a global PDF analysis, we assess the impact on the PDFs from uncertainties in the deuteron wave function at short distances and nucleon off-shell effects, the use of relativistic kinematics, as well as the use of less a restrictive parametrization of the d/u ratio. We find that in particular the d-quark and gluon PDFs vary significantly with the choice of nuclear model. We highlight the impact of these uncertainties on the determination of the neutron structure function, and on W boson production and parton luminosity at the Tevatron and the LHC. Finally, we discuss prospects for new measurements sensitive to the d-quark and gluon distributions but insensitive to nuclear corrections.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Polarization Transfer in the 4He(e,e'p)3H Reaction at Q^2 = 0.8 and 1.3 (GeV/c)^2

Proton recoil polarization was measured in the quasielastic 4He(e,e'p)3H reaction at Q^2 = 0.8 (GeV/c)^2 and 1.3 (GeV/c)^2 with unprecedented precision. The polarization-transfer coefficients are found to differ from those of the 1H(e,e' p) reaction, contradicting a relativistic distorted-wave approximation, and favoring either the inclusion of medium-modified proton form factors predicted by the quark-meson coupling model or a spin-dependent charge-exchange final-state interaction. For the first time, the polarization-transfer ratio is studied as a function of the virtuality of the proton.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2010

Scaling of the F_2 structure function in nuclei and quark distributions at x>1

We present new data on electron scattering from a range of nuclei taken in Hall C at Jefferson Lab. For heavy nuclei, we observe a rapid falloff in the cross section for $x>1$, which is sensitive to short range contributions to the nuclear wave-function, and in deep inelastic scattering corresponds to probing extremely high momentum quarks. This result agrees with higher energy muon scattering measurements, but is in sharp contrast to neutrino scattering measurements which suggested a dramatic enhancement in the distribution of the `super-fast' quarks probed at x>1. The falloff at x>1 is noticeably stronger in ^2H and ^3He, but nearly identical for all heavier nuclei.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2010

Probing Quark-Gluon Interactions with Transverse Polarized Scattering

We have extracted QCD matrix elements from our data on double polarized inelastic scattering of electrons on nuclei. We find the higher twist matrix element \tilde{d_2}, which arises strictly from quark- gluon interactions, to be unambiguously non zero. The data also reveal an isospin dependence of higher twist effects if we assume that the Burkhardt-Cottingham Sum rule is valid. The fundamental Bjorken sum rule obtained from the a0 matrix element is satisfied at our low momentum transfer.

nucl-ex↗