Measurement of the Charge-Averaged Elastic Lepton-Proton Scattering Cross Section by the OLYMPUS Experiment.

We report the first measurement of the average of the electron-proton and positron-proton elastic scattering cross sections. This lepton charge-averaged cross section is insensitive to the leading effects of hard two-photon exchange, giving more robust access to the proton's electromagnetic form factors. The cross section was extracted from data taken by the OLYMPUS experiment at DESY, in which alternating stored electron and positron beams were scattered from a windowless gaseous hydrogen target. Elastic scattering events were identified from the coincident detection of the scattered lepton and recoil proton in a large-acceptance toroidal spectrometer. The luminosity was determined from the rates of Møller, Bhabha, and elastic scattering in forward electromagnetic calorimeters. The data provide some selectivity between existing form factor global fits and will provide valuable constraints to future fits.

First Observation of P-odd γ Asymmetry in Polarized Neutron Capture on Hydrogen.

We report the first observation of the parity-violating gamma-ray asymmetry A_{γ}^{np} in neutron-proton capture using polarized cold neutrons incident on a liquid parahydrogen target at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A_{γ}^{np} isolates the ΔI=1, ^{3}S_{1}→^{3}P_{1} component of the weak nucleon-nucleon interaction, which is dominated by pion exchange and can be directly related to a single coupling constant in either the DDH meson exchange model or pionless effective field theory. We measured A_{γ}^{np}=[-3.0±1.4(stat)±0.2(syst)]×10^{-8}, which implies a DDH weak πNN coupling of h_{π}^{1}=[2.6±1.2(stat)±0.2(syst)]×10^{-7} and a pionless EFT constant of C^{^{3}S_{1}→^{3}P_{1}}/C_{0}=[-7.4±3.5(stat)±0.5(syst)]×10^{-11} MeV^{-1}. We describe the experiment, data analysis, systematic uncertainties, and implications of the result.

Hard Two-Photon Contribution to Elastic Lepton-Proton Scattering Determined by the OLYMPUS Experiment.

The OLYMPUS Collaboration reports on a precision measurement of the positron-proton to electron-proton elastic cross section ratio, R_{2γ}, a direct measure of the contribution of hard two-photon exchange to the elastic cross section. In the OLYMPUS measurement, 2.01 GeV electron and positron beams were directed through a hydrogen gas target internal to the DORIS storage ring at DESY. A toroidal magnetic spectrometer instrumented with drift chambers and time-of-flight scintillators detected elastically scattered leptons in coincidence with recoiling protons over a scattering angle range of ≈20° to 80°. The relative luminosity between the two beam species was monitored using tracking telescopes of interleaved gas electron multiplier and multiwire proportional chamber detectors at 12°, as well as symmetric Møller or Bhabha calorimeters at 1.29°. A total integrated luminosity of 4.5 fb^{-1} was collected. In the extraction of R_{2γ}, radiative effects were taken into account using a Monte Carlo generator to simulate the convolutions of internal bremsstrahlung with experiment-specific conditions such as detector acceptance and reconstruction efficiency. The resulting values of R_{2γ}, presented here for a wide range of virtual photon polarization 0.456<ε<0.978, are smaller than some hadronic two-photon exchange calculations predict, but are in reasonable agreement with a subtracted dispersion model and a phenomenological fit to the form factor data.

Measurement of the Vector and Tensor Asymmetries at Large Missing Momentum in Quasielastic (e[over →],e

We report the measurement of the beam-vector and tensor asymmetries A_{ed}^{V} and A_{d}^{T} in quasielastic (e[over →],e^{'}p) electrodisintegration of the deuteron at the MIT-Bates Linear Accelerator Center up to missing momentum of 500 MeV/c. Data were collected simultaneously over a momentum transfer range 0.1

Precise measurement of deuteron tensor analyzing powers with BLAST.

We report a precision measurement of the deuteron tensor analyzing powers T(20) and T(21) at the MIT-Bates Linear Accelerator Center. Data were collected simultaneously over a momentum transfer range Q=2.15-4.50 fm(-1) with the Bates Large Acceptance Spectrometer Toroid using a highly polarized deuterium internal gas target. The data are in excellent agreement with calculations in a framework of effective field theory. The deuteron charge monopole and quadrupole form factors G(C) and G(Q) were separated with improved precision, and the location of the first node of G(C) was confirmed at Q=4.19±0.05 fm(-1). The new data provide a strong constraint on theoretical models in a momentum transfer range covering the minimum of T(20) and the first node of G(C).

Measurements of the electric form factor of the neutron up to Q2=3.4 GeV2 using the reaction 3He(e,e'n)pp.

The electric form factor of the neutron was determined from studies of the reaction 3He(e,e'n)pp in quasielastic kinematics in Hall A at Jefferson Lab. Longitudinally polarized electrons were scattered off a polarized target in which the nuclear polarization was oriented perpendicular to the momentum transfer. The scattered electrons were detected in a magnetic spectrometer in coincidence with neutrons that were registered in a large-solid-angle detector. More than doubling the Q2 range over which it is known, we find G(E)(n)=0.0236±0.0017(stat)±0.0026(syst), 0.0208±0.0024±0.0019, and 0.0147±0.0020±0.0014 for Q(2)=1.72, 2.48, and 3.41 GeV2, respectively.

Measurement of Neutron Decay Parameters-The abBA Experiment.

We are developing an experiment to measure the correlations a, A, and B, and the Fierz interference term b in neutron decay, with a precision of approximately 10(-4). The experiment uses an electromagnetic spectrometer in combination with two large-area segmented silicon detectors to detect the proton and electron from the decay in coincidence, with 4π acceptance for both particles. For the neutron-polarization-dependent observables A and B, precision neutron polarimetry is achieved through the combination of a pulsed neutron beam, under construction at the SNS, and a polarized (3)He neutron polarizer. Measuring a and A in the same apparatus provides a redundant determination of λ = gA/gV . Uncertainty in λ dominates the uncertainty of CKM unitarity tests.

Measurement of direct f0(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_{gamma}=3.0-3.8 GeV and -t=0.4-1.0 GeV2. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The resonance was detected via its decay in the pi;{+}pi;{-} channel by performing a partial wave analysis of the reaction gammap-->ppi;{+}pi;{-}. Clear evidence of the f_{0}(980) meson was found in the interference between P and S waves at M_{pi;{+}pi;{-}} approximately 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 about 50 smaller than the cross section for the rho meson. This is the first time the f_{0}(980) meson has been measured in a photoproduction experiment.

Search for the photoexcitation of exotic mesons in the pi+pi+pi- system.

A search for exotic mesons in the pi;{+}pi;{+}pi;{-} system photoproduced by the charge exchange reaction gammap-->pi;{+}pi;{+}pi;{-}(n) was carried out by the CLAS Collaboration at Jefferson Lab. A tagged-photon beam with energies in the 4.8 to 5.4 GeV range, produced through bremsstrahlung from a 5.744 GeV electron beam, was incident on a liquid-hydrogen target. A partial wave analysis was performed on a sample of 83 000 events, the highest such statistics to date in this reaction at these energies. The main objective of this study was to look for the photoproduction of an exotic J;{PC}=1;{-+} resonant state in the 1 to 2 GeV mass range. Our partial wave analysis shows production of the a_{2}(1320) and the pi_{2}(1670) mesons, but no evidence for the a_{1}(1260), nor the pi_{1}(1600) exotic state at the expected levels. An upper limit of 13.5 nb is determined for the exotic pi_{1}(1600) cross section, less than 2% of the a_{2}(1320) production.

Precise measurement of the neutron magnetic form factor G(M)n in the few-GeV2 region.

The neutron elastic magnetic form factor was extracted from quasielastic electron scattering on deuterium over the range Q;{2}=1.0-4.8 GeV2 with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. High precision was achieved with a ratio technique and a simultaneous in situ calibration of the neutron detection efficiency. Neutrons were detected with electromagnetic calorimeters and time-of-flight scintillators at two beam energies. The dipole parametrization gives a good description of the data.

Measurement of deeply virtual compton scattering beam-spin asymmetries.

The beam-spin asymmetries in the hard exclusive electroproduction of photons on the proton (e p-->epgamma) were measured over a wide kinematic range and with high statistical accuracy. These asymmetries result from the interference of the Bethe-Heitler process and of deeply virtual Compton scattering. Over the whole kinematic range (x(B) from 0.11 to 0.58, Q2 from 1 to 4.8 GeV2, -t from 0.09 to 1.8 GeV2), the azimuthal dependence of the asymmetries is compatible with expectations from leading-twist dominance, A approximately a sinphi/(1+c cosphi). This extensive set of data can thus be used to constrain significantly the generalized parton distributions of the nucleon in the valence quark sector.

Bayesian analysis of pentaquark signals from CLAS data.

We examine the results of two measurements by the CLAS collaboration, one of which claimed evidence for a Theta(+) pentaquark, while the other found no such evidence. The unique feature of these two experiments was that they were performed with the same experimental setup. Using a Bayesian analysis, we find that the results of the two experiments are in fact compatible with each other, but that the first measurement did not contain sufficient information to determine unambiguously the existence of a Theta(+). Further, we suggest a means by which the existence of a new candidate particle can be tested in a rigorous manner.

Search for medium modifications of the rho meson.

The photoproduction of vector mesons on various nuclei has been studied using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Laboratory. The vector mesons, rho, omega, and varphi, 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 rho meson. The rho mass spectrum is extracted from the data on various nuclei, 2H, C, Fe, and Ti. We observe no significant mass shift and some broadening consistent with expected collisional broadening for the rho meson.

Compton-scattering cross section on the proton at high momentum transfer.

Cross-section values for Compton scattering on the proton were measured at 25 kinematic settings over the range s=5-11 and -t=2-7 GeV2 with a statistical accuracy of a few percent. The scaling power for the s dependence of the cross section at fixed center-of-mass angle was found to be 8.0+/-0.2, strongly inconsistent with the prediction of perturbative QCD. The observed cross-section values are in fair agreement with the calculations using the handbag mechanism, in which the external photons couple to a single quark.

Experimental study of exclusive 2H(e,e'p)n reaction mechanisms at high Q2.

The reaction 2H(e,e'p)n has been studied with full kinematic coverage for photon virtuality 1.75NN transition is the primary contribution at higher momenta.

Eta' photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 1.527 to 2.227 GeV.

Differential cross sections for the reaction gamma p --> eta' p have been measured with the CLAS spectrometer and a tagged photon beam with energies from 1.527 to 2.227 GeV. The results reported here possess much greater accuracy than previous measurements. Analyses of these data suggest for the first time the coupling of the eta'N channel to both the S11(1535) and P11(1710) resonances, known to couple strongly to the etaN channel in photoproduction on the proton, and the importance of J = 3/2 resonances in the process.

Measurement of two- and three-nucleon short-range correlation probabilities in nuclei.

The ratios of inclusive electron scattering cross sections of 4He, 12C, and 56Fe to 3He have been measured at 1 < xB <. At Q2 > 1.4 GeV2, the ratios exhibit two separate plateaus, at 1.5 < xB < 2 and at xB > 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, 3.1, and 4.4 times larger for A = 4, 12, and 56. This is the first measurement of 3-nucleon SRC probabilities in nuclei.

Search for Theta+ (1540) Pentaquark in High-Statistics Measurement of gammap-->K0K+n at CLAS.

The exclusive reaction gammap-->K0K+n was studied in the photon energy range between 1.6 and 3.8 GeV searching for evidence of the exotic baryon Theta+ (1540)-->nK+. The decay to nK+requires the assignment of strangeness S=+1 to any observed resonance. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 70 pb-1. No evidence for the Theta+ pentaquark was found. Upper limits were set on the production cross section as function of center-of-mass angle and nK+ mass. The 95% C.L. upper limit on the total cross section for a narrow resonance at 1540 MeV was found to be 0.8 nb.

Search for Theta++ pentaquarks in the exclusive reaction gammap-->K+K-p.

The reaction gammap --> pK+K- was studied at Jefferson Lab with photon energies from 1.8 to 3.8 GeV using a tagged photon beam. The goal was to search for a Theta++ pentaquark, a narrow, doubly charged baryon state having strangeness S=+1 and isospin I=1, in the pK+ invariant mass spectrum. No statistically significant evidence of a Theta++ was found. Upper limits on the total and differential cross section for the reaction gammap --> K-Theta++ were obtained in the mass range from 1.5 to 2.0 GeV/c2, with an upper limit for a narrow resonance with a mass M(Theta++) = 1.54 GeV/c2 of about 0.15 nb, 95% C.L.. This result places a stringent upper limit on the Theta++ width Gamma(Theta++) <0.1 MeV/c2.

Measurement of the N-->Delta(+)(1232) transition at high-momentum transfer by pi(0) electroproduction.

We report a new measurement of the exclusive electroproduction reaction gamma(*)p-->pi(0)p to explore the evolution from soft nonperturbative physics to hard processes via the Q(2) dependence of the magnetic (M(1+)), electric (E(1+)), and scalar (S(1+)) multipoles in the N-->Delta transition. 9000 differential cross section data points cover W from threshold to 1.4 GeV/c(2), 4pi center-of-mass solid angle, and Q(2) from 3 to 6 GeV(2)/c(2), the highest yet achieved. It is found that the magnetic form factor G(M)(*) decreases with Q(2) more steeply than the proton magnetic form factor, the ratio E(1+)/M(1+) is small and negative, indicating strong helicity nonconservation, and the ratio S(1+)/M(1+) is negative, while its magnitude increases with Q(2).