arXiv subjects

M. O. Distler

Publications and source records attributed to M. O. Distler.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Measurement of the $p(e,e'π^+)n$ reaction close to threshold and at low $Q^2$

The cross section of the $p(e,e'π^+)n$ reaction has been measured for five kinematic settings at an invariant mass of $W = 1094$ MeV and for a four-momentum transfer of $Q^2 = 0.078$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$. The measurement has been performed at MAMI using a new short-orbit spectrometer (SOS) of the A1 collaboration, intended for detection of low-energy pions. The transverse and longitudinal cross section terms were separated using the Rosenbluth method and the transverse-longitudinal interference term has been determined from the left-right asymmetry. The experimental cross section terms are compared with the calculations of three models: DMT2001, MAID2007 and $χ$MAID. The results show that we do not yet understand the dynamics of the fundamental pion.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2017

Vertical Beam Polarization at MAMI

For the first time a vertically polarized electron beam has been used for physics experiments at MAMI in the energy range between 180 and 855 MeV. The beam-normal single-spin asymmetry $A_{\mathrm{n}}$, which is a direct probe of higher-order photon exchange beyond the first Born approximation, has been measured in the reaction $^{12}\mathrm C(\vec e,e')^{12}\mathrm C$. Vertical polarization orientation was necessary to measure this asymmetry with the existing experimental setup. In this paper we describe the procedure to orient the electron polarization vector vertically, and the concept of determining both its magnitude and orientation with the available setup. A sophisticated method has been developed to overcome the lack of a polarimeter setup sensitive to the vertical polarization component.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2016

First measurement of proton's charge form factor at very low $Q^2$ with initial state radiation

We report on a new experimental method based on initial-state radiation (ISR) in e-p scattering, in which the radiative tail of the elastic e-p peak contains information on the proton charge form factor ($G_E^p$) at extremely small $Q^2$. The ISR technique was validated in a dedicated experiment using the spectrometers of the A1-Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI). This provided first measurements of $G_E^p$ for $0.001\leq Q^2\leq 0.004 (GeV/c)^2$.

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arXiv2016

Polarization-transfer measurement to a large-virtuality bound proton in the deuteron

Possible differences between free and bound protons may be observed in the ratio of polarization-transfer components, $P'_x/P'_z$. We report the measurement of $P'_x/P'_z$, in the $^2\textrm{H}(\vec{e},e^{\prime}\vec{p})n$ reaction at low and high missing momenta. Observed increasing deviation of $P'_x/P'_z$ from that of a free proton as a function of the virtuality, similar to that observed in \hefour, indicates that the effect in nuclei is due to the virtuality of the knock-out proton and not due to the average nuclear density. The measured differences from calculations assuming free-proton form factors ($\sim10\%$), may indicate in-medium modifications.

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arXiv2015

Measurement of the Beam-Recoil Polarization in Low-Energy Virtual Compton Scattering from the Proton

Double-polarization observables in the reaction $\vec{e}p \rightarrow e'\vec{p'}γ$ have been measured at $Q^2=0.33 (GeV/c)^2$. The experiment was performed at the spectrometer setup of the A1 Collaboration using the 855 MeV polarized electron beam provided by the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) and a recoil proton polarimeter. From the double-polarization observables the structure function $P_{LT}^\perp$ is extracted for the first time, with the value $(-15.4 \pm 3.3 (stat.)^{+1.5}_{-2.4} (syst.)) GeV^{-2}$, using the low-energy theorem for Virtual Compton Sattering. This structure function provides a hitherto unmeasured linear combination of the generalized polarizabilities of the proton.

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arXiv2015

Observation of Lambda H-4 hyperhydrogen by decay-pion spectroscopy in electron scattering

At the Mainz Microtron MAMI, the first high-resolution pion spectroscopy from decays of strange systems was performed by electron scattering off a Be-9 target in order to study the ground-state masses of Lambda-hypernuclei. Positively charged kaons were detected by a short-orbit spectrometer with a broad momentum acceptance at zero degree forward angles with respect to the beam, efficiently tagging the production of strangeness in the target nucleus. In coincidence, negatively charged decay-pions were detected by two independent high-resolution spectrometers. About 10^3 pionic weak decays of hyperfragments and hyperons were observed. The pion momentum distribution shows a monochromatic peak at p_pi ~ 133 MeV/c, corresponding to the unique signature for the two-body decay of hyperhydrogen Lambda H-4 -> He-4 + pi-, stopped inside the target. Its binding energy was determined to be B_Lambda = 2.12 +- 0.01 (stat.) +- 0.09 (syst.) MeV with respect to the H-3 + Lambda mass.

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arXiv2014

The electric and magnetic form factors of the proton

The paper describes a precise measurement of electron scattering off the proton at momentum transfers of $0.003 \lesssim Q^2 \lesssim 1$\ GeV$^2$. The average point-to-point error of the cross sections in this experiment is $\sim$ 0.37%. These data are used for a coherent new analysis together with all world data of unpolarized and polarized electron scattering from the very smallest to the highest momentum transfers so far measured. The extracted electric and magnetic form factors provide new insight into their exact shape, deviating from the classical dipole form, and of structure on top of this gross shape. The data reaching very low $Q^2$ values are used for a new determination of the electric and magnetic radii. An empirical determination of the Two-Photon-Exchange (TPE) correction is presented. The implications of this correction on the radii and the question of a directly visible signal of the pion cloud are addressed.

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arXiv2014

Search for light massive gauge bosons as an explanation of the $(g-2)_μ$ anomaly at MAMI

A massive, but light abelian U(1) gauge boson is a well motivated possible signature of physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In this paper, the search for the signal of such a U(1) gauge boson in electron-positron pair-production at the spectrometer setup of the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) is described. Exclusion limits in the mass range of 40 MeV up to 300 MeV with a sensitivity in the mixing parameter of down to $ε^2 = 8\times 10^{-7}$ are presented. A large fraction of the parameter space has been excluded where the discrepancy of the measured anomalous magnetic moment of the muon with theory might be explained by an additional U(1) gauge boson.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2013

Measurement of the neutron electric to magnetic form factor ratio at Q2 = 1.58 GeV2 using the reaction 3He(e,e'n)pp

A measurement of beam helicity asymmetries in the reaction 3He(e,e'n)pp has been performed at the Mainz Microtron in quasielastic kinematics in order to determine the electric to magnetic form factor ratio of the neutron, GEn/GMn, at a four momentum transfer Q2 = 1.58 GeV2. Longitudinally polarized electrons were scattered on a highly polarized 3He gas target. The scattered electrons were detected with a high-resolution magnetic spectrometer, and the ejected neutrons with a dedicated neutron detector composed of scintillator bars. To reduce systematic errors data were taken for four different target polarization orientations allowing the determination of GEn/GMn from a double ratio. We find mu_n GEn/GMn = 0.250 +/- 0.058(stat.) +/- 0.017 (sys.).

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

Measurements of the γ* p --> Δ(1232) reaction at low Q2

We report new p$(\vec{e},e^\prime p)π^\circ$ measurements in the $Δ^{+}(1232)$ resonance at the low momentum transfer region utilizing the magnetic spectrometers of the A1 Collaboration at MAMI. The mesonic cloud dynamics are predicted to be dominant and appreciably changing in this region while the momentum transfer is sufficiently low to be able to test chiral effective calculations. The results disagree with predictions of constituent quark models and are in reasonable agreement with dynamical calculations with pion cloud effects, chiral effective field theory and lattice calculations. The reported measurements suggest that improvement is required to the theoretical calculations and provide valuable input that will allow their refinements.

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arXiv2011

Exclusive electroproduction of K+ Lambda and K+ Sigma^0 final states at Q^2 = 0.030-0.055 (GeV/c)^2

Cross section measurements of the exclusive p(e,e'K+)Lambda,Sigma^0 electroproduction reactions have been performed at the Mainz Microtron MAMI in the A1 spectrometer facility using for the first time the Kaos spectrometer for kaon detection. These processes were studied in a kinematical region not covered by any previous experiment. The nucleon was probed in its third resonance region with virtual photons of low four-momenta, Q^2= 0.030-0.055 (GeV/c)^2. The MAMI data indicate a smooth transition in Q^2 from photoproduction to electroproduction cross sections. Comparison with predictions of effective Lagrangian models based on the isobar approach reveal that strong longitudinal couplings of the virtual photon to the N* resonances can be excluded from these models.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Consistent threshold pi0 electro-production at Q^2=0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 GeV^2/c^2

New, accurate data are presented on the near threshold p(e,e'p)pi^0 reaction in the range of four-momentum transfers between Q^2=0.05 and 0.15GeV^2/c^2. The data were taken with the spectrometer setup of the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. The complete center of mass solid angle was covered up to a center of mass energy of 4MeV above threshold. These results supersede the previous analysis based on three separate experiments, and are compared with calculations in Heavy Baryon Chiral Perturbation Theory and with phenomenological models.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Reply to Comment on "High-Precision Determination of the Electric and Magnetic Form Factors of the Proton"

In arXiv:1108.3058v1 [nucl-ex], Arrington criticizes the Coulomb corrections we applied in the analysis of high precision form factor data (see Phys.Rev.Lett.105:242001, 2010, arXiv:1007.5076v3 [nucl-ex]). We show, by comparing different calculations cited in the Comment, that the criticism of the Comment neglects the large uncertainty of "more modern" TPE corrections. This uncertainty has also been seen in recent polarized measurements. We rerun our analysis using one of these calculations. The results show that the Comment exaggerates the quantitative effect at small Q^2.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Search for Light Gauge Bosons of the Dark Sector at the Mainz Microtron

A new exclusion limit for the electromagnetic production of a light U(1) gauge boson γ' decaying to e^+e^- was determined by the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron. Such light gauge bosons appear in several extensions of the standard model and are also discussed as candidates for the interaction of dark matter with standard model matter. In electron scattering from a heavy nucleus, the existing limits for a narrow state coupling to e^+e^- were reduced by nearly an order of magnitude in the range of the lepton pair mass of 210 MeV/c^2 < m_e^+e^- < 300 MeV/c^2. This experiment demonstrates the potential of high current and high resolution fixed target experiments for the search for physics beyond the standard model.

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arXiv2011

A Large-Scale FPGA-Based Trigger and Dead-Time Free DAQ System for the Kaos Spectrometer at MAMI

The Kaos spectrometer is maintained by the A1 collaboration at the Mainz Microtron MAMI with a focus on the study of (e,e'K^+) coincidence reactions. For its electron-arm two vertical planes of fiber arrays, each comprising approximately 10 000 fibers, are operated close to zero degree scattering angle and in close proximity to the electron beam. A nearly dead-time free DAQ system to acquire timing and tracking information has been installed for this spectrometer arm. The signals of 144 multi-anode photomultipliers are collected by 96-channel front-end boards, digitized by double-threshold discriminators and the signal time is picked up by state-of-the-art F1 time-to-digital converter chips. In order to minimize background rates a sophisticated trigger logic was implemented in newly developed Vuprom modules. The trigger performs noise suppression, signal cluster finding, particle tracking, and coincidence timing, and can be expanded for kinematical matching (e'K^+) coincidences. The full system was designed to process more than 4 000 read-out channels and to cope with the high electron flux in the spectrometer and the high count rate requirement of the detectors. It was successfully in-beam tested at MAMI in 2009.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

Particle tracking in kaon electroproduction with cathode-charge sampling in multi-wire proportional chambers

Wire chambers are routinely operated as tracking detectors in magnetic spectrometers at high-intensity continuous electron beams. Especially in experiments studying reactions with small cross-sections the reaction yield is limited by the background rate in the chambers. One way to determine the track of a charged particle through a multi-wire proportional chamber (MWPC) is the measurement of the charge distribution induced on its cathodes. In practical applications of this read-out method, the algorithm to relate the measured charge distribution to the avalanche position is an important factor for the achievable position resolution and for the track reconstruction efficiency. An algorithm was developed for operating two large-sized MWPCs in a strong background environment with multiple-particle tracks. Resulting efficiencies were determined as a function of the electron beam current and on the signal amplitudes. Because of the different energy-losses of pions, kaons, and protons in the momentum range of the spectrometer the efficiencies depend also on the particle species.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2010

High-precision determination of the electric and magnetic form factors of the proton

New precise results of a measurement of the elastic electron-proton scattering cross section performed at the Mainz Microtron MAMI are presented. About 1400 cross sections were measured with negative four-momentum transfers squared up to Q^2=1 (GeV/c)^2 with statistical errors below 0.2%. The electric and magnetic form factors of the proton were extracted by fits of a large variety of form factor models directly to the cross sections. The form factors show some features at the scale of the pion cloud. The charge and magnetic radii are determined to be r_E=0.879(5)(stat.)(4)(syst.)(2)(model)(4)(group) fm and r_M=0.777(13)(stat.)(9)(syst.)(5)(model)(2)(group) fm.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2009

Investigation of the Exclusive ^{3}He(e,e'pn)p Reaction

Cross sections for the ^{3}He(e,e'pn)p reaction were measured for the first time at energy transfers of 220 and 270 MeV for several momentum transfers ranging from 300 to 450 MeV/c. Cross sections are presented as a function of the momentum of the recoil proton and the momentum transfer. Continuum Faddeev calculations using the Argonne V18 and Bonn-B nucleon-nucleon potentials overestimate the measured cross sections by a factor 5 at low recoil proton momentum with the discrepancy becoming much smaller at higher recoil momentum.

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