Three-body nature of N(*) and Δ(*) resonances from sequential decay chains.

The Nπ^{0}π^{0} decays of positive-parity N^{*} and Δ^{*} resonances at about 2 GeV are studied at ELSA by photoproduction of two neutral pions off protons. The data reveal clear evidence for several intermediate resonances: Δ(1232), N(1520)3/2^{-}, and N(1680)5/2^{+}, with spin parities J^{P}=3/2^{+}, 3/2^{-}, and 5/2^{+}. The partial wave analysis (within the Bonn-Gatchina approach) identifies N(1440)1/2^{+} and the N(ππ)_{S wave} (abbreviated as Nσ here) as further isobars and assigns the final states to the formation of nucleon and Δ resonances and to nonresonant contributions. We observe the known Δ(1232)π decays of Δ(1910)1/2^{+}, Δ(1920)3/2^{+}, Δ(1905)5/2^{+}, Δ(1950)7/2^{+}, and of the corresponding spin-parity series in the nucleon sector, N(1880)1/2^{+}, N(1900)3/2^{+}, N(2000)5/2^{+}, and N(1990)7/2^{+}. For the nucleon resonances, these decay modes are reported here for the first time. Further new decay modes proceed via N(1440)1/2^{+}π, N(1520)3/2^{-}π, N(1680)5/2^{+}π, and Nσ. The latter decay modes are observed in the decay of N^{*} resonances and at most weakly in Δ^{*} decays. It is argued that these decay modes provide evidence for a 3-quark nature of N^{*} resonances rather than a quark-diquark structure.

Neutron skin of (208)pb from coherent pion photoproduction.

Information on the size and shape of the neutron skin on (208)Pb is extracted from coherent pion photoproduction cross sections measured using the Crystal Ball detector together with the Glasgow tagger at the MAMI electron beam facility. On exploitation of an interpolated fit of a theoretical model to the measured cross sections, the half-height radius and diffuseness of the neutron distribution are found to be c(n)=6.70±0.03(stat.) fm and a(n)=0.55±0.01(stat.)(-0.03)(+0.02)(sys.) fm, respectively, corresponding to a neutron skin thickness Δr(np)=0.15±0.03(stat.)(-0.03)(+0.01)(sys.) fm. The results give the first successful extraction of a neutron skin thickness with an electromagnetic probe and indicate that the skin of (208)Pb has a halo character. The measurement provides valuable new constraints on both the structure of nuclei and the equation of state for neutron-rich matter.

Measurement of the 1H(γ, p)π0 reaction using a novel nucleon spin polarimeter.

We report the first large-acceptance measurement of polarization transfer from a polarized photon beam to a recoiling nucleon. The measurement pioneers a novel polarimetry technique, which can be applied to many other nuclear and hadron physics experiments. The commissioning reaction of 1H(γ, p)π0 in the range 0.4

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.

Scaling of the F2 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 "superfast" quarks probed at x>1. The falloff at x>1 is noticeably stronger in 2H and 3He, but nearly identical for all heavier nuclei.

New measurements of the European Muon Collaboration effect in very light nuclei.

New Jefferson Lab data are presented on the nuclear dependence of the inclusive cross section from (2)H, (3)He, (4)He, (9)Be and (12)C for 0.3 < x < 0.9, Q(2) approximately 3-6 GeV(2). These data represent the first measurement of the EMC effect for (3)He at large x and a significant improvement for (4)He. The data do not support previous A-dependent or density-dependent fits to the EMC effect and suggest that the nuclear dependence of the quark distributions may depend on the local nuclear environment.

Beam-helicity asymmetries in double-pion photoproduction off the proton.

Beam-helicity asymmetries have been measured at the MAMI accelerator in Mainz in the three isospin channels gamma[over -->]p-->pi(+)pi(0)n, gamma[over -->]p-->pi(0)pi(0)p, and gamma[over -->]p-->pi(+)pi(-)p. The circularly polarized photons, produced from bremsstrahlung of longitudinally polarized electrons, were tagged with the Glasgow magnetic spectrometer. Charged pions and the decay photons of pi(0) mesons were detected in a 4pi electromagnetic calorimeter which combined the Crystal Ball detector with the TAPS detector. The precisely measured asymmetries are very sensitive to details of the production processes and are thus key observables in the modeling of the reaction dynamics.

Quasifree photoproduction of eta mesons off the neutron.

Quasifree photoproduction of eta mesons off nucleons bound in the deuteron has been measured with the CBELSA/TAPS detector for incident photon energies up to 2.5 GeV at the Bonn ELSA accelerator. The eta mesons have been detected in coincidence with recoil protons and recoil neutrons, which allows a detailed comparison of the quasifree n(gamma,eta)n and p(gamma,eta)p reactions. The excitation function for eta production off the neutron shows a pronounced bumplike structure at W=1.68 GeV (E{gamma} approximately 1 GeV), which is absent for the proton.

Incoherent neutral pion photoproduction on 12C.

We present the first detailed measurement of incoherent photoproduction of neutral pions to a discrete state of a residual nucleus. The 12C(gamma,pi(0))(12)C*(4.4 MeV) reaction has been studied with the Glasgow photon tagger at MAMI employing a new technique which uses the large solid angle Crystal Ball detector both as a pi(0) spectrometer and to detect decay photons from the excited residual nucleus. The technique has potential applications to a broad range of future nuclear measurements with the Crystal Ball and similar detector systems elsewhere. Such data are sensitive to the propagation of the Delta in the nuclear medium and will give the first information on matter transition form factors from measurements with an electromagnetic probe. The incoherent cross sections are compared to two theoretical predictions including a Delta-hole model.

Modification of the omega-meson lifetime in nuclear matter.

Information on hadron properties in the nuclear medium has been derived from the photoproduction of omega mesons on the nuclei C, Ca, Nb, and Pb using the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector at the ELSA tagged photon facility in Bonn. The dependence of the omega-meson cross section on the nuclear mass number has been compared with three different types of models: a Glauber analysis, a Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck analysis of the Giessen theory group, and a calculation by the Valencia theory group. In all three cases, the inelastic omega width is found to be 130-150 MeV/c(2) at normal nuclear matter density for an average 3-momentum of 1.1 GeV/c. In the rest frame of the omega meson, this inelastic omega width corresponds to a reduction of the omega lifetime by a factor approximately 30. For the first time, the momentum dependent omegaN cross section has been extracted from the experiment and is in the range of 70 mb.

Observation of in-medium modifications of the omega meson.

The photoproduction of omega mesons on nuclei has been investigated using the Crystal Barrel/TAPS experiment at the ELSA tagged photon facility in Bonn. The aim is to study possible in-medium modifications of the omega meson via the reaction gamma + A --> omega + X --> pi(0)gamma + X('). Results obtained for Nb are compared to a reference measurement on a LH2 target. While for recoiling, long-lived mesons (pi(0), eta, and eta;(')), which decay outside of the nucleus, a difference in the line shape for the two data samples is not observed, we find a significant enhancement towards lower masses for omega mesons produced on the Nb target. For momenta less than 500 MeV/c an in-medium omega meson mass of M(medium) = [722(+4)(-4)(stat)+35-5(syst)] MeV/c(2) has been deduced at an estimated average nuclear density of 0.6rho(0).

Direct observation of a rho decay of the D13(1520) baryon resonance.

The reaction gammap-->pi(+)pi(0)n has been measured at MAMI for photon energies up to 820 MeV. Invariant mass spectra of the particles in the final state (pi(+)n), (pi(0)n), (pi(+)pi(0)) have been determined for several bins of incident photon energy. Differences in pi(+)pi(0) and simultaneously measured pi(0)pi(0) invariant mass distributions are assigned to a rho branch of the D13(1520) nucleon resonance.

The reaction gammap-->pi0gamma'p and the magnetic dipole moment of the Delta+ 1232 resonance.

The reaction gammap-->pi(0)gamma'p has been measured with the TAPS calorimeter at the Mainz Microtron accelerator facility MAMI for energies between sqrt[s]=1221-1331 MeV. The cross section's differential in angle and energy have been determined for the photon gamma' in three bins of the excitation energy. This reaction channel provides access to the magnetic dipole moment of the Delta(+)(1232) resonance and, for the first time, a value of mu(Delta(+))=[2.7(+1.0)(-1.3)(stat)+/-1.5(syst)+/-3(theor)]mu(N) has been extracted.

In-medium modifications of the pipi interaction in photon-induced reactions.

Differential cross sections of the reactions (gamma,pi(0)pi(0)) and (gamma,pi(0)pi(+/-)) have been measured for several nuclei (1H,12C, and (nat)Pb) at an incident-photon energy of E(gamma)=400-460 MeV at the tagged-photon facility at MAMI-B using the TAPS spectrometer. A significant nuclear-mass dependence of the pipi invariant-mass distribution is found in the pi(0)pi(0) channel. This dependence is not observed in the pi(0)pi(+/-) channel and is consistent with an in-medium modification of the pipi interaction in the I=J=0 channel. The data are compared to pi-induced measurements and to calculations within a chiral-unitary approach.

Test of low-energy theorems for 1H(--> gamma, pi(0))(H)in the threshold hegion.

The photon asymmetry in the reaction 1H(--> gamma,pi(0))(1)H close to threshold has been measured for the first time with the photon spectrometer TAPS using linearly polarized photons from the tagged-photon facility at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. The total and differential cross sections were also measured simultaneously with the photon asymmetry. This allowed determination of the S-wave and all three P-wave amplitudes. The values obtained at threshold are E(0+) = [-1.33+/-0.08(stat)+/-0.03(syst)] x 10(-3)/m(pi(+)), P(1) = [9.47 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.29(syst)] x 10(-3)q/m(2)(pi(+)), P(2) = [-9.46 +/- 0.1(stat) +/- 0.29(syst)] x 10(-3)q/m(2)(pi(+)), and P(3) = [11.48 +/- 0.06(stat) +/- 0.35(syst)] x 10(-3)q/m(2)(pi(+)).

Photoproduction of eta-mesic 3He.

The photoproduction of eta-mesic 3He has been investigated using the TAPS calorimeter at the Mainz Microtron accelerator facility MAMI. The total inclusive cross section for the reaction gamma3He-->etaX has been measured for photon energies from threshold to 820 MeV. The total and angular differential coherent eta cross sections have been extracted up to energies of 745 MeV. A resonancelike structure just above the eta production threshold with an isotropic angular distribution suggests the existence of a resonant quasibound state. This is supported by studies of a competing decay channel of such a quasibound eta-mesic nucleus into pi(0)pX. A binding energy of (-4.4+/-4.2) MeV and a width of (25.6+/-6.1) MeV is deduced for the quasibound eta-mesic state in 3He.