arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M. Ostrick.
We report the first large-acceptance measurement of the beam-spin asymmetry for deuteron photodisintegration ($\vecγ d\to pn$) in the photon energy range $400<E_γ<630$~MeV. The measurement provides important new constraints on the mechanisms of photodisintegration above the delta resonance and on the photocoupling of the recently discovered $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark.
The isobar model EtaMAID has been updated with new and high precision data for eta and etaprime photoproduction on protons and neutrons from MAMI, ELSA, GRAAL and CLAS. The background is described in a recently developed Regge-cut model, and for the resonance part the whole list of nucleon resonances has been investigated with 21 N* states contributing to eta photoproduction and 12 N* states contributing to etaprime photoproduction. A new approach is discussed to avoid double counting in the overlap region of Regge and resonances. A comparison is done among four newly updated partial waves analyses for observables and partial waves. Finally, the possibility of a narrow resonance near W=1900 MeV is discussed, that would be able to explain unexpected energy and angular dependence of observables in p(gamma,etaprime)p near etaprime threshold.
This work measured $dσ/dΩ$ for neutral kaon photoproduction reactions from threshold up to a c.m.\ energy of 1855MeV, focussing specifically on the $γp\rightarrow K^0Σ^+$, $γn\rightarrow K^0Λ$, and $γn\rightarrow K^0 Σ^0$ reactions. Our results for $γn\rightarrow K^0 Σ^0$ are the first-ever measurements for that reaction. These data will provide insight into the properties of $N^*$ resonances and, in particular, will lead to an improved knowledge about those states that couple only weakly to the $πN$ channel. Integrated cross sections were extracted by fitting the differential cross sections for each reaction as a series of Legendre polynomials and our results are compared with prior experimental results and theoretical predictions.
The helicity-dependent cross sections for the photoproduction of $π^0η$ pairs have been measured for the first time. The experiment was performed at the tagged photon facility of the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the combined Crystal Ball - TAPS calorimeter. The experiment used a polarized deuterated butanol target and a circularly polarized photon beam. This arrangement allowed the $σ_{1/2}$ (photon and target spin antiparallel) and $σ_{3/2}$ (parallel spins) components to be measured for quasi-free production of $π^0η$ pairs off protons and neutrons. The main finding is that the two helicity components contribute identically, within uncertainties, for both participant protons and neutrons. The absolute couplings for protons and neutrons are also identical. This means that nucleon resonances contributing to this reaction in the investigated energy range have almost equal electromagnetic helicity couplings, $A_{1/2}^{n,p}$ and $A_{3/2}^{n,p}$. Identical couplings for protons and neutrons are typical for $Δ$ resonances and identical $A_{1/2}$ and $A_{3/2}$ components are only possible for $J\geq 3/2$ states, which constrains possible contributions of nucleon resonances.
It has recently been proven that the invariance of observables with respect to angle dependent phase rotations of reaction amplitudes mixes multipoles changing also their relative strength [1]. All contemporary partial wave analyses (PWA) in $η$ photoproduction on protons, either energy dependent (ED) [2-5] or single energy (SE) [6] do not take this effect into consideration. It is commonly accepted that there exist quite some similarity in the $E0+$ multipole for all PWA, but notable differences in this, but also in remaining partial waves still remain. In this paper we demonstrate that once this phase rotations are properly taken into account, all contemporary ED and SE partial wave analysis become almost identical for the dominant $E0+$ multipole, and the agreement among all other multipoles becomes much better. We also show that the the measured observables are almost equally well reproduced for all PWA, and the remaining differences among multipoles can be attributed solely to the difference of predictions for unmeasured observables. So, new measurements are needed.
An experimental study of the $η'\to π^0π^0η\to 6γ$ decay has been conducted with the best up-to-date statistical accuracy, by measuring $η'$ mesons produced in the $γp \to η' p$ reaction with the A2 tagged-photon facility at the Mainz Microtron, MAMI. The results obtained for the standard parametrization of the $η'\to π^0π^0η$ matrix element are consistent with the most recent results for $η'\toππη$ decays, but have smaller uncertainties. The available statistics and experimental resolution allowed, for the first time, an observation of a structure below the $π^+π^-$ mass threshold, the magnitude and sign of which, checked within the framework of the nonrelativistic effective-field theory, demonstrated good agreement with the cusp that was predicted based on the $ππ$ scattering length combination, $a_0-a_2$, extracted from $K \to 3π$ decays.
Unconstrained partial-wave amplitudes obtained at discrete energies from fits to complete sets of eight independent observables which are required to uniquely reconstruct reaction amplitudes do not vary smoothly with energy, and are in principle non-unique. We demonstrate how this behavior can be ascribed to the continuum ambiguity. Starting from the spinless scattering case, we demonstrate how an unknown overall phase depending on energy and angle mixes the structures seen in the associated partial-wave amplitudes making the partial wave decomposition non-unique, and illustrate it on a simple toy model. We then apply these principles to pseudo-scalar meson photoproduction and show that the non-uniqueness effect can be removed through a phase rotation generating "up-to-a-phase" unique set of SE partial wave amplitudes. Extracting pole positions from partial wave amplitudes is the next step. Up to now, there was no reliable way to extract pole parameters from SE partial waves, but a new and simple single-channel method (Laurent + Pietarinen expansion) applicable for continuous and discrete data has been recently developed. It is based on applying the Laurent decomposition of partial wave amplitude, and expanding the nonresonant background into a power series of a conformal-mapping, quickly converging power series obtaining the simplest analytic function with well-defined partial wave analytic properties which fits the input. The generalization of this method to multi- channel case is also developed and presented. Unifying both methods in succession, one constructs a model independent procedure to extract pole parameters directly from experimental data without referring to any theoretical model.
The largest, at the moment, statistics of 7x10^6 eta->3pi^0 decays, based on 6.2x10^7 eta mesons produced in the gamma p -> eta p reaction, has been accumulated by the A2 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron, MAMI. It allowed a detailed study of the eta->3pi^0 dynamics beyond its conventional parametrization with just the quadratic slope parameter alpha and enabled, for the first time, a measurement of the second-order term and a better understanding of the cusp structure in the neutral decay. The present data are also compared to recent theoretical calculations that predict a nonlinear dependence along the quadratic distance from the Dalitz-plot center.
The data available from the A2 Collaboration at MAMI were analyzed to select the $γp\to π^0ηp$ reaction on an event-by-event basis, which allows for partial-wave analyses of three-body final states to obtain more reliable results, compared to fits to measured distributions. These data provide the world's best statistical accuracy in the energy range from threshold to $E_γ=1.45$ GeV, allowing a finer energy binning in the measurement of all observables needed for understanding the reaction dynamics. The results obtained for the measured observables are compared to existing models, and the impact from the new data is checked by the fit with the revised Mainz model.
Photoproduction of mesons off quasi-free nucleons bound in the deuteron allows to study the electromagnetic excitation spectrum of the neutron and the isospin structure of the excitation of nucleon resonances. The database for such reactions is much more sparse than for free proton targets. Single $π^0$ photoproduction off quasi-free nucleons from the deuteron was experimentally studied. Nuclear effects were investigated by a comparison of the results for free protons and quasi-free protons and used as a correction for the quasi-free neutron data. The experiment was performed at the tagged photon beam of the Mainz MAMI accelerator for photon energies between 0.45~GeV and 1.4~GeV, using an almost $4π$ electromagnetic calorimeter composed of the Crystal Ball and TAPS detectors. A complete kinematic reconstruction of the final state removed the effects of Fermi motion. Reaction model predictions and PWA for $γn\rightarrow nπ^{0}$, based on fits to data for the other isospin channels, disagreed between themselves and no model provided a good description of the new data. The results demonstrate clearly the importance of a measurement of the fully neutral final state for the isospin decomposition of the cross section. Model refits, for example from the Bonn-Gatchina analysis, show that the new and the previous data for the other three isospin channels can be simultaneously described when the contributions of several partial waves are modified. The results are also relevant for the suppression of the higher resonance bumps in total photoabsorption on nuclei, which are not well understood.
We present a new version of the EtaMAID model for $η$ and $η'$ photoproduction on nucleons. The model includes 23 nucleon resonances parameterized with Breit-Wigner shapes. The background is described by vector and axial-vector meson exchanges in the $t$ channel using the Regge cut phenomenology. Parameters of the resonances were obtained from a fit to available experimental data for $η$ and $η'$ photoproduction on protons and neutrons. The nature of the most interesting observations in the data is discussed.
The $γN \to π^0 N$ and $γN \to ηN$ reactions at photon beam energies above 4 GeV are investigated within Regge models. The models include $t$-channel exchanges of vector ($ρ$ and $ω$) and axial vector ($b_1$ and $h_1$) mesons. Moreover, Regge cuts of $ρ{\mathbb P}$, $ρf_2$, $ω{\mathbb P}$, and $ωf_2$ are investigated. A good description of differential cross sections and polarization observables at photon beam energies from 4 to 15 GeV can be achieved.
Partial wave amplitudes of meson photoproduction reactions are an important source of information in baryon spectroscopy. We investigate a new approach in single-energy partial wave analyses of these reactions. Instead of using a constraint to theoretical models in order to achieve solutions which are continuous in energy, we enforce the analyticity of the amplitudes at fixed values of the Mandelstam variable $t$. We present an iterative procedure with successive fixed-$t$ amplitude analyses which constrain the single-energy partial wave analyses and apply this method to the $γp \to ηp$ reaction. We use pseudo data, generated by the EtaMAID model, to test the method and to analyze ambiguities. Finally, we present an analytically constrained partial wave analysis using experimental data for four polarization observables recently measured at MAMI and GRAAL in the energy range from threshold to $\sqrt{s}=1.85$ GeV.
The double-polarization observable $E$ and the helicity-dependent cross sections $σ_{1/2}$ and $σ_{3/2}$ have been measured for the first time for single $π^{0}$ photoproduction from protons and neutrons bound in the deuteron at the electron accelerator facility MAMI in Mainz, Germany. The experiment used a circularly polarized photon beam and a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The reaction products, recoil nucleons and decay photons from the $π^0$ meson were detected with the Crystal Ball and TAPS electromagnetic calorimeters. Effects from nuclear Fermi motion were removed by a kinematic reconstruction of the $π^{0}N$ final state. A comparison to data measured with a free proton target showed that the absolute scale of the cross sections is significantly modified by nuclear final-state interaction (FSI) effects. However, there is no significant effect on the asymmetry $E$ since the $σ_{1/2}$ and $σ_{3/2}$ components appear to be influenced in a similar way. Thus, the best approximation of the two helicity-dependent cross sections for the free neutron is obtained by combining the asymmetry $E$ measured with quasi-free neutrons and the unpolarized cross section corrected for FSI effects under the assumption that the FSI effects are similar for neutrons and protons.
The Dalitz decays eta -> e^+e^-g and omega -> pi^0 e^+e^- have been measured in the g p -> eta p and g p -> omega p reactions, respectively, with the A2 tagged-photon facility at the Mainz Microtron, MAMI. The value obtained for the slope parameter of the electromagnetic transition form factor of eta, Lambda^{-2}_eta=(1.97+/-0.11_tot) GeV^{-2}, is in good agreement with previous measurements of the eta -> e^+e^-g and eta -> mu^+mu^-g decays. The uncertainty obtained in the value of Lambda^{-2}_eta is lower than in previous results based on the eta -> e^+e^-g decay. The value obtained for the omega slope parameter, Lambda^{-2}_omega_pi^0 = (1.99+/-0.21_tot) GeV^{-2}, is somewhat lower than previous measurements based on omega -> pi^0 mu^+mu^-, but the results for the omega transition form factor are in better agreement with theoretical calculations, compared to earlier experiments.
Precise helicity-dependent cross sections and the double-polarization observable $E$ were measured for $η$ photoproduction from quasi-free protons and neutrons bound in the deuteron. The $η\rightarrow 2γ$ and $η\rightarrow 3π^0\rightarrow 6γ$ decay modes were used to optimize the statistical quality of the data and to estimate systematic uncertainties. The measurement used the A2 detector setup at the tagged photon beam of the electron accelerator MAMI in Mainz. A longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target was used in combination with a circularly polarized photon beam from bremsstrahlung of a longitudinally polarized electron beam. The reaction products were detected with the electromagnetic calorimeters Crystal Ball and TAPS, which covered 98\% of the full solid angle. The results show that the narrow structure observed earlier in the unpolarized excitation function of $η$ photoproduction off the neutron appears only in reactions with antiparallel photon and nucleon spin ($σ_{1/2}$). It is absent for reactions with parallel spin orientation ($σ_{3/2}$) and thus very probably related to partial waves with total spin 1/2. The behavior of the angular distributions of the helicity-dependent cross sections was analyzed by fitting them with Legendre polynomials. The results are in good agreement with a model from the Bonn-Gatchina group, which uses an interference of $P_{11}$ and $S_{11}$ partial waves to explain the narrow structure.
New high-precision total and differential cross sections for $η$ and $η'$ photoproduction on the proton obtained by the A2 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron are presented. The data for $η$ photoproduction demonstrate a cusp at the energy W$\sim$1.9~GeV. Furthermore, we present a new version of the $η$MAID model for $η$ and $η'$ photoproduction. The model includes 23 nucleon resonances parametrized with Breit-Wigner shapes. The background is described by vector and axial-vector meson exchanges in the $t$ channel using the Regge phenomenology. Parameters of the resonances were obtained from a fit to preliminary data of the A2 Collaboration at MAMI and available data from other collaborations. The cusp is explained as a threshold effect due to the opening $η' p$ decay channel of the $N(1895)1/2^-$ resonance.
The Dalitz decay pi^0 -> e^+e^-gamma has been measured in the gamma p -> pi^0 p reaction with the A2 tagged-photon facility at the Mainz Microtron, MAMI. The value obtained for the slope parameter of the pi^0 electromagnetic transition form factor, a_pi = 0.030+/-0.010_tot, is in agreement with existing measurements of this decay and with recent theoretical calculations. The uncertainty obtained in the value of a_pi is lower than in previous results based on the pi^0 -> e^+e^-gamma decay.