arXiv subjects

CLAS Collaboration

Publications and source records attributed to CLAS Collaboration.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Upper limits for the photoproduction cross section for the Phi--(1860) pentaquark state off the deuteron

We searched for the Phi--(1860) pentaquark in the photoproduction process off the deuteron in the Xi- pi- decay channel using CLAS. The invariant mass spectrum of the Xi- pi- system does not indicate any statistically significant enhancement near the reported mass M = 1.860 GeV. The statistical analysis of the sideband-subtracted mass spectrum yields a 90% confidence level upper limit of 0.7 nb for the photoproduction cross section of Phi--(1860) with a consecutive decay into Xi- pi- in the photon energy range 4.5 GeV < Egamma < 5.5 GeV.

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arXiv2011

Electromagnetic Decay of the $Σ^{0}(1385)$ to $Λγ$

The electromagnetic decay $Σ^0(1385) \to Λγ$ was studied using the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. A real photon beam with a maximum energy of 3.8 GeV was incident on a proton target, producing an exclusive final state of $K^+Σ^{*0}$. We report the decay widths ratio $Σ^0(1385) \to Λγ$/ $Σ^0(1385) \to Λπ^0$ = $1.42 \pm 0.12(\text{stat})_{-0.07}^{+0.11}(\text{sys})$%. This ratio is larger than most theoretical predictions by factors ranging from 1.5-3, but is consistent with the only other experimental measurement. From the reported ratio we calculate the partial width and electromagnetic transition magnetic moment for $Σ^0(1385) \to Λγ$.

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arXiv2010

Measurement of the Nucleon Structure Function F2 in the Nuclear Medium and Evaluation of its Moments

We report on the measurement of inclusive electron scattering off a carbon target performed with CLAS at Jefferson Laboratory. A combination of three different beam energies 1.161, 2.261 and 4.461 GeV allowed us to reach an invariant mass of the final-state hadronic system W~2.4 GeV with four-momentum transfers Q2 ranging from 0.2 to 5 GeV2. These data, together with previous measurements of the inclusive electron scattering off proton and deuteron, which cover a similar continuous two-dimensional region of Q2 and Bjorken variable x, permit the study of nuclear modifications of the nucleon structure. By using these, as well as other world data, we evaluated the F2 structure function and its moments. Using an OPE-based twist expansion, we studied the Q2-evolution of the moments, obtaining a separation of the leading-twist and the total higher-twist terms. The carbon-to-deuteron ratio of the leading-twist contributions to the F2 moments exhibits the well known EMC effect, compatible with that discovered previously in x-space. The total higher-twist term in the carbon nucleus appears, although with large systematic uncertainites, to be smaller with respect to the deuteron case for n<7, suggesting partial parton deconfinement in nuclear matter. We speculate that the spatial extension of the nucleon is changed when it is immersed in the nuclear medium.

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arXiv2009

Measurement of unpolarized semi-inclusive pi+ electroproduction off the proton

Semi-inclusive pi+ electroproduction on protons has been measured with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. The measurement was performed on a liquid-hydrogen target using a 5.75 GeV electron beam. The complete five-fold differential cross sections were measured over a wide kinematic range including the complete range of azimuthal angles between hadronic and leptonic planes, phi, enabling us to separate the phi-dependent terms. Our measurements of phi-independent term of the cross section at low Bjorken x were found to be in fairly good agreement with pQCD calculations. Indeed, the conventional current fragmentation calculation can account for almost all of the observed cross section, even at small pi+ momentum. The measured center-of-momentum spectra are in qualitative agreement with high energy data, which suggests a surprising numerical similarity between the spectator diquark fragmentation in the present reaction and the anti-quark fragmentation measured in e+e- collisions. We have observed that the two phi-dependent terms of the cross section are small. Within our precision the cos(2phi) term is compatible with zero, except for low-z region, and the measured cos(phi) term is much smaller in magnitude than the sum of the Cahn and Berger effects.

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arXiv2008

First measurement of direct $f_0(980)$ photoproduction on the proton

We report on the results of the first measurement of exclusive $f_0(980)$ meson photoproduction on protons for $E_γ=3.0 - 3.8$ GeV and $-t = 0.4-1.0$ GeV$^2$. 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 $γp \to p π^+ π^-$. Clear evidence of the $f_0(980)$ meson was found in the interference between $P$ and $S$ waves at $M_{π^+ π^-}\sim 1$ GeV. The $S$-wave differential cross section integrated in the mass range of the $f_0(980)$ was found to be a factor of 50 smaller than the cross section for the $ρ$ meson. This is the first time the $f_0(980)$ meson has been measured in a photoproduction experiment.

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arXiv2008

First measurement of target and double spin asymmetries for polarized e- polarized p --> e p pi0 in the nucleon resonance region above the Delta(1232)

The exclusive channel polarized proton(polarized e,e prime p)pi0 was studied in the first and second nucleon resonance regions in the Q2 range from 0.187 to 0.770 GeV2 at Jefferson Lab using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). Longitudinal target and beam-target asymmetries were extracted over a large range of center-of-mass angles of the pi0 and compared to the unitary isobar model MAID, the dynamic model by Sato and Lee, and the dynamic model DMT. A strong sensitivity to individual models was observed, in particular for the target asymmetry and in the higher invariant mass region. This data set, once included in the global fits of the above models, is expected to place strong constraints on the electrocoupling amplitudes A_{1/2} and S_{1/2} for the Roper resonance N(1400)P11, and the N(1535)S11 and N(1520)D13 states.

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arXiv2008

Ratios of 15N/12C and 4He/12C inclusive electroproduction cross sections in the nucleon resonance region

The (W,Q2)-dependence of the ratio of inclusive electron scattering cross sections for 15N/12C was determined in the kinematic range 0.8<W<2 GeV and 0.2<Q2<1 GeV2 using 2.285 GeV electrons and the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. The ratios exhibit only slight resonance structure, in agreement with a simple phenomenological model and an extrapolation of DIS ratios to low Q2. Ratios of 4He/12C using 1.6 to 2.5 GeV electrons were measured with very high statistical precision, and were used to correct for He in the N and C targets. The (W,Q2) dependence of the 4He/12C ratios is in good agreement with the phenomenological model, and exhibit significant resonance structure centered at W=0.94, 1.23 and 1.5 GeV.

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arXiv2008

Light Vector Mesons in the Nuclear Medium

The light vector mesons ($ρ$, $ω$, and $ϕ$) were produced in deuterium, carbon, titanium, and iron targets in a search for possible in-medium modifications to the properties of the $ρ$ meson at normal nuclear densities and zero temperature. The vector mesons were detected with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) via their decays to $e^{+}e^{-}$. The rare leptonic decay was chosen to reduce final-state interactions. A combinatorial background was subtracted from the invariant mass spectra using a well-established event-mixing technique. The $ρ$ meson mass spectrum was extracted after the $ω$ and $ϕ$ signals were removed in a nearly model-independent way. Comparisons were made between the $ρ$ mass spectra from the heavy targets ($A > 2$) with the mass spectrum extracted from the deuterium target. With respect to the $ρ$-meson mass, we obtain a small shift compatible with zero. Also, we measure widths consistent with standard nuclear many-body effects such as collisional broadening and Fermi motion.

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arXiv2007

Beam spin asymmetry in deep and exclusive pi0 electroproduction

The beam spin asymmetry (BSA) in the exclusive reaction ep->ep pi0 was measured with the CEBAF 5.77 GeV polarized electron beam and Large Acceptance Spectrometer(CLAS). The xB, Q2, t and phi dependences of the pi0 BSA are presented in the deep inelastic regime. The asymmetries are fitted with a sin(phi) function and their amplitudes are extracted. Overall, they are of the order of 0.04 - 0.11 and roughly independent of t. This is the signature of a non-zero longitudinal-transverse interference. The implications concerning the applicability of a formalism based on generalized parton distributions, as well as the extension of a Regge formalism at high photon virtualities, are discussed.

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arXiv2007

Cross sections and beam asymmetries for $\vev{e}p \to enπ^+$ in the nucleon resonance region for $1.7 \le Q^2 \le 4.5 (GeV)^2$

The exclusive electroproduction process $\vec{e}p \to e^\prime n π^+$ was measured in the range of the photon virtuality $Q^2 = 1.7 - 4.5 \rm{GeV^2}$, and the invariant mass range for the $nπ^+$ system of $W = 1.15 - 1.7 \rm{GeV}$ using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer. For the first time, these kinematics are probed in exclusive $π^+$ production from protons with nearly full coverage in the azimuthal and polar angles of the $nπ^+$ center-of-mass system. The $nπ^+$ channel has particular sensitivity to the isospin 1/2 excited nucleon states, and together with the $pπ^0$ final state will serve to determine the transition form factors of a large number of resonances. The largest discrepancy between these results and present modes was seen in the $σ_{LT'}$ structure function. In this experiment, 31,295 cross section and 4,184 asymmetry data points were measured. Because of the large volume of data, only a reduced set of structure functions and Legendre polynomial moments can be presented that are obtained in model-independent fits to the differential cross sections.

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arXiv2007

Search for medium modification of the $ρ$ meson

The photoproduction of vector mesons on various nuclei has been studied using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Laboratory. The vector mesons, $ρ$, $ω$, and $ϕ$, are observed via their decay to $e^+e^-$, in order to reduce the effects of final state interactions in the nucleus. Of particular interest are possible in-medium effects on the properties of the $ρ$ meson. The $ρ$ spectral function is extracted from the data on various nuclei, carbon, iron, and titanium, and compared to the spectrum from liquid deuterium, which is relatively free of nuclear effects. We observe no significant mass shift for the $ρ$ meson; however, there is some widening of the resonance in titanium and iron, which is consistent with expected collisional broadening.

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arXiv2007

$π^0$ photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 0.675 to 2.875 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction $γp \to p π^0$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.675 to 2.875 GeV. The results reported here possess greater accuracy in the absolute normalization than previous measurements. They disagree with recent CB-ELSA measurements for the process at forward scattering angles. Agreement with the SAID and MAID fits is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been extended to 3 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations.

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arXiv2006

First Measurement of Beam-Recoil Observables Cx and Cz in Hyperon Photoproduction

Spin transfer from circularly polarized real photons to recoiling hyperons has been measured for the reactions $\vecγ+ p \to K^+ + \vecΛ$ and $\vecγ+ p \to K^+ + \vecΣ^0$. The data were obtained using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass energies $W$ between 1.6 and 2.53 GeV, and for $-0.85<\cosθ_{K^+}^{c.m.}< +0.95$. For the $Λ$, the polarization transfer coefficient along the photon momentum axis, $C_z$, was found to be near unity for a wide range of energy and kaon production angles. The associated transverse polarization coefficient, $C_x$, is smaller than $C_z$ by a roughly constant difference of unity. Most significantly, the {\it total} $Λ$ polarization vector, including the induced polarization $P$, has magnitude consistent with unity at all measured energies and production angles when the beam is fully polarized. For the $Σ^0$ this simple phenomenology does not hold. All existing hadrodynamic models are in poor agreement with these results.

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arXiv2006

Neutron structure function moments at leading twist

The experimental data on F2 structure functions of the proton and deuteron were used to construct their moments. In particular, recent measurements performed with CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab allowed to extend our knowledge of structure functions in the large-x region. The phenomenological analysis of these experimental moments in terms of the Operator Product Expansion permitted to separate the leading and higher twist contributions. Applying nuclear corrections to extracted deuteron moments we obtained the contribution of the neutron. Combining leading twist moments of the neutron and proton we found d/u ratio at x->1 approaching 0, although 1/5 value could not be excluded. The twist expansion analysis suggests that the contamination of higher twists influences the extraction of the d/u ratio at x->1 even at Q2-scale as large as 12 (GeV/c)^2.

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arXiv2006

Experimental moments of the nucleon structure function F2

Experimental data on the F2 structure functions of the proton and deuteron, including recent results from CLAS at Jefferson Lab, have been used to construct their n<=12 moments. A comprehensive analysis of the moments in terms of the operator product expansion has been performed to separate the moments into leading and higher twist contributions. Particular attention was paid to the issue of nuclear corrections in the deuteron, when extracting the neutron moments from data. The difference between the proton and neutron moments was compared directly with lattice QCD simulations. Combining leading twist moments of the neutron and proton we found the d/u ratio at x->1 approaching 0, although the precision of the data did not allow to exclude the 1/5 value. The higher twist components of the proton and neutron moments suggest that multi-parton correlations are isospin independent.

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arXiv2005

Measurement of the Polarized Structure Function $σ_{LT^\prime}$ for Pion Electroproduction in the Roper Resonance Region

The polarized longitudinal-transverse structure function $σ_{LT^\prime}$ measures the interference between real and imaginary amplitudes in pion electroproduction and can be used to probe the coupling between resonant and non-resonant processes. We report new measurements of $σ_{LT^\prime}$ in the $N(1440){1/2}^+$ (Roper) resonance region at $Q^2=0.40$ and 0.65 GeV$^2$ for both the $π^0 p$ and $π^+ n$ channels. The experiment was performed at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) using longitudinally polarized electrons at a beam energy of 1.515 GeV. Complete angular distributions were obtained and are compared to recent phenomenological models. The $σ_{LT^\prime}(π^+ n)$ channel shows a large sensitivity to the Roper resonance multipoles $M_{1-}$ and $S_{1-}$ and provides new constraints on models of resonance formation.

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arXiv2005

Measurement of 2- and 3-Nucleon Short Range Correlation Probabilities in Nuclei

The ratios of inclusive electron scattering cross sections of He4, C12 and Fe56 to He3 have been measured at 1 < x_B < 3. At Q^2 > 1.4 GeV^2, the ratios exhibit two separate plateaus, at 1.5 < x_B < 2 and at x_B > 2.25. This pattern is predicted by models that include 2- and 3-nucleon short-range correlations (SRC). Relative to A=3, the per-nucleon probabilities of 3-nucleon SRC are 2.3, 3.2, and 4.6 times larger for A=4, 12 and 56. This is the first measurement of 3-nucleon SRC probabilities in nuclei. \\

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arXiv2005

Beam-Helicity Asymmetries in Double-Charged-Pion Photoproduction on the Proton

Beam-helicity asymmetries for the two-pion-photoproduction reaction gamma + p --> p pi+ pi- have been studied for the first time in the resonance region for center-of-mass energies between 1.35 GeV and 2.30 GeV. The experiment was performed at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer using circularly polarized tagged photons incident on an unpolarized hydrogen target. Beam-helicity-dependent angular distributions of the final-state particles were measured. The large cross-section asymmetries exhibit strong sensitivity to the kinematics and dynamics of the reaction. The data are compared with the results of various phenomenological model calculations, and show that these models currently do not provide an adequate description for the behavior of this new observable.

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