Isotensor Dibaryon in the pp→ppπ

Exclusive measurements of the quasifree pp→ppπ^{+}π^{-} reaction have been carried out at WASA@COSY by means of pd collisions at T_{p}=1.2 GeV. Total and differential cross sections have been extracted covering the energy region T_{p}=1.08-1.36 GeV, which is the region of N^{*}(1440) and Δ(1232)Δ(1232) resonance excitations. Calculations describing these excitations by t-channel meson exchange are at variance with the measured differential cross sections and underpredict substantially the experimental total cross section. An isotensor ΔN dibaryon resonance with I(J^{P})=2(1^{+}) produced associatedly with a pion is able to overcome these deficiencies.

Spin Dependence of η Meson Production in Proton-Proton Collisions Close to Threshold.

Taking advantage of the high acceptance and axial symmetry of the WASA-at-COSY detector, and the high polarization degree of the proton beam of COSY, the reaction p[over →]p→ppη has been measured close to threshold to explore the analyzing power A_{y}. The angular distribution of A_{y} is determined with the precision improved by more than 1 order of magnitude with respect to previous results, allowing a first accurate comparison with theoretical predictions. The determined analyzing power is consistent with zero for an excess energy of Q=15 MeV, signaling s-wave production with no evidence for higher partial waves. At Q=72 MeV the data reveal strong interference of Ps and Pp partial waves and cancellation of (Pp)^{2} and Ss^{*}Sd contributions. These results rule out the presently available theoretical predictions for the production mechanism of the η meson.

Observation of a New Narrow Axial-Vector Meson a1(1420).

The COMPASS Collaboration at CERN has measured diffractive dissociation of 190 GeV/c pions into the π(-)π(-)π(+) final state using a stationary hydrogen target. A partial-wave analysis (PWA) was performed in bins of 3π mass and four-momentum transfer using the isobar model and the so far largest PWA model consisting of 88 waves. A narrow peak is observed in the f0(980)π channel with spin, parity and C-parity quantum numbers J(PC)=1(++). We present a resonance-model study of a subset of the spin-density matrix selecting 3π states with J(PC)=2(++) and 4(++) decaying into ρ(770)π and with J(PC)=1(++) decaying into f0(980)π. We identify a new a1 meson with mass (1414(-13)(+15)) MeV/c2 and width (153(-23)(+8)) MeV/c2. Within the final states investigated in our analysis, we observe the new a1(1420) decaying only into f0(980)π, suggesting its exotic nature.

Measurement of the charged-pion polarizability.

The COMPASS collaboration at CERN has investigated pion Compton scattering, π(-)γ→π(-)γ, at center-of-mass energy below 3.5 pion masses. The process is embedded in the reaction π(-)Ni→π(-)γNi, which is initiated by 190 GeV pions impinging on a nickel target. The exchange of quasireal photons is selected by isolating the sharp Coulomb peak observed at smallest momentum transfers, Q(2)<0.0015 (GeV/c)(2). From a sample of 63,000 events, the pion electric polarizability is determined to be α(π)=(2.0±0.6(stat)±0.7(syst))×10(-4) fm(3) under the assumption α(π)=-ß(π), which relates the electric and magnetic dipole polarizabilities. It is the most precise measurement of this fundamental low-energy parameter of strong interaction that has been addressed since long by various methods with conflicting outcomes. While this result is in tension with previous dedicated measurements, it is found in agreement with the expectation from chiral perturbation theory. An additional measurement replacing pions by muons, for which the cross-section behavior is unambiguously known, was performed for an independent estimate of the systematic uncertainty.

First measurement of chiral dynamics in π- γ → π- π- π+.

The COMPASS Collaboration at CERN has investigated the π- γ → π- π- π+ reaction at center-of-momentum energy below five pion masses, sqrt[s]<5m(π), embedded in the Primakoff reaction of 190 GeV pions impinging on a lead target. Exchange of quasireal photons is selected by isolating the sharp Coulomb peak observed at smallest momentum transfers, t'<0.001 GeV2/c2. Using partial-wave analysis techniques, the scattering intensity of Coulomb production described in terms of chiral dynamics and its dependence on the 3π-invariant mass m(3π)=sqrt[s] were extracted. The absolute cross section was determined in seven bins of sqrt[s] with an overall precision of 20%. At leading order, the result is found to be in good agreement with the prediction of chiral perturbation theory over the whole energy range investigated.

Abashian-Booth-Crowe effect in basic double-pionic fusion: a new resonance?

We report on an exclusive and kinematically complete high-statistics measurement of the basic double-pionic fusion reaction pn→dπ(0)π(0) over the full energy region of the ABC effect, a pronounced low-mass enhancement in the ππ-invariant mass spectrum. The measurements, which cover also the transition region to the conventional t-channel ΔΔ process, were performed with the upgraded WASA detector setup at COSY. The data reveal the Abashian-Booth-Crowe effect to be uniquely correlated with a Lorentzian energy dependence in the integral cross section. The observables are consistent with a narrow resonance with m=2.37 GeV, Γ≈70 MeV and I(J(P))=0(3(+)) in both pn and ΔΔ systems. Necessary further tests of the resonance interpretation are discussed.

Observation of a J(PC)=1-+ exotic resonance in diffractive dissociation of 190   GeV/c π- into π- π- π+.

The COMPASS experiment at the CERN SPS has studied the diffractive dissociation of negative pions into the π- π- π+ final state using a 190 GeV/c pion beam hitting a lead target. A partial wave analysis has been performed on a sample of 420,000 events taken at values of the squared 4-momentum transfer t' between 0.1 and 1 GeV2/c2. The well-known resonances a1(1260), a2(1320), and π2(1670) are clearly observed. In addition, the data show a significant natural-parity exchange production of a resonance with spin-exotic quantum numbers J(PC)=1-+ at 1.66 GeV/c2 decaying to ρπ. The resonant nature of this wave is evident from the mass-dependent phase differences to the J(PC)=2-+ and 1++ waves. From a mass-dependent fit a resonance mass of (1660±10(-64)(+0)) MeV/c2 and a width of (269±21(-64)(+42)) MeV/c2 are deduced, with an intensity of (1.7±0.2)% of the total intensity.

First measurement of the transverse spin asymmetries of the deuteron in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering.

First measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries of charged hadrons produced in deep-inelastic scattering of muons on a transversely polarized 6LiD target are presented. The data were taken in 2002 with the COMPASS spectrometer using the muon beam of the CERN SPS at 160 GeV/c. The Collins asymmetry turns out to be compatible with zero, as does the measured Sivers asymmetry within the present statistical errors.

Measurement of spin-transfer observables in p p-->Lambda Lambda at 1.637 GeV/c.

Spin-transfer observables for p p-->Lambda Lambda have been measured using a transversely polarized frozen-spin target and a beam momentum of 1.637 GeV/c. Current models of the reaction near threshold are in good agreement with existing measurements performed with unpolarized particles in the initial state but produce conflicting predictions for the spin-transfer observables Dnn and Knn (the normal-to-normal depolarization and polarization transfer), which are measurable only with polarized target or beam. Measurements of Dnn and Knn presented here are found to be in disagreement with predictions from these models.