A brief discussion of the DVCS program at the Jefferson Lab 12 GeV energy upgrade is given. Emphasis is on what can be learned from using both polarized electron and polarized positron beams in conjunction with polarized nucleon targets.
This paper reports the measurement of polarized and unpolarized cross sections for the ep -> e'p' reaction, which is comprised of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) and Bethe-Heitler (BH) processes, at an electron beam energy of 5.88 GeV at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility using the Large Acceptance Spectrometer CLAS. The unpolarized cross sections and polarized cross section differences have been measured over broad kinematics, 0.10 < x_B < 0.58, 1.0 < Q^2 < 4.8 GeV^2, and 0.09 < -t < 2.00 GeV^2. The results are found to be consistent with previous CLAS data, and these…
The cross section of the exclusive $π^0$ and $η$ electroproduction reaction $ep\to e^\prime p^\prime π^0/η$ was measured at Jefferson Lab with a 5.75-GeV electron beam and the CLAS detector. Differential cross sections $d^4σ/dtdQ^2dx_Bdϕ$ and structure functions $σ_T+εσ_L, σ_{TT}$ and $σ_{LT}$ as functions of $t$ were obtained over a wide range of $Q^2$ and $x_B$. The data are compared with the GPD based theoretical models. Analyses find that a large dominance of transverse processes is necessary to explain the experimental results. Generalized form factors of the transversity GPDs $H_T^{π,η}$…
The generalized parton distributions (GPDs) have emerged as a universal tool to describe hadrons in terms of their elementary constituents, the quarks and the gluons. Deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) on a proton or neutron ($N$), $e N \rightarrow e' N' γ$, is the process more directly interpretable in terms of GPDs. The amplitudes of DVCS and Bethe-Heitler, the process where a photon is emitted by either the incident or scattered electron, can be accessed via cross-section measurements or exploiting their interference which gives rise to spin asymmetries. Spin asymmetries, cross sectio…
We review the compelling case for establishing a capability to accelerate positrons at Jefferson Lab. The potential appplications range from the study of two-photon exchange and deeply-virtual Compton scattering to exploiting the charge current weak interaction to probe the flavor structure of hadrons and nuclei. There are also fascinating ideas for using such a capability to discover new physics beyond the Standard Model of nuclear and particle physics.
We summarize the measurements investigating the nucleon spin structure done at Jefferson Lab, a multi-GeV continuous electron beam facility located in Newport News, Virgina, USA. After motivating spin structure studies, we explain how Jefferson Lab uniquely contributes to them and describe the experimental program that was achieved with energies up to 6 GeV. We then discuss the continuation of this program at the higher energies now available thanks to the recent 12 GeV upgrade of Jefferson Lab's accelerator.
This paper focuses on a measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) performed at Jefferson Lab using a nearly-6-GeV polarized electron beam, two longitudinally polarized (via DNP) solid targets of protons (NH3) and deuterons (ND3) and the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer. Here, preliminary results for target-spin asymmetries and double (beam-target) asymmetries for proton DVCS, as well as a very preliminary extraction of beam-spin asymmetry for neutron DVCS, are presented and linked to Generalized Parton Distributions.
This white paper summarizes the scientific opportunities for utilization of the upgraded 12 GeV Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) and associated experimental equipment at Jefferson Lab. It is based on the 52 proposals recommended for approval by the Jefferson Lab Program Advisory Committee.The upgraded facility will enable a new experimental program with substantial discovery potential to address important topics in nuclear, hadronic, and electroweak physics.
The Jefferson Lab facilities have undergone a substantial upgrade, both of accelerator, CEBAF, and of the experimental installations. We will discuss the progress to completion of these facilities, the status of accelerator commissioning, and the recent first operations for physics. We will then flesh out the anticipated exciting physics program of the next several years.
We report on a Rosenbluth separation using previously published data by the CLAS collaboration in Hall B, Jefferson Lab for exclusive $π^{0}$ deeply virtual electroproduction (DVEP) from the proton at a mean $Q^{2}$ of $\approx$ 2 (GeV/c)$^{2}$. The central question we address is the applicability of factorization in $π^0$ DVEP at these kinematics. The results of our Rosenbluth separation clearly demonstrate the dominance of the longitudinal contribution to the cross section. The extracted longitudinal and transverse contributions are in agreement with previous data from Hall A at Jefferson La…
We propose to use the High Momentum Spectrometer of Hall C combined with the Neutral Particle Spectrometer (NPS) to perform high precision measurements of the Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) cross section using a beam of positrons. The combination of measurements with oppositely charged incident beams is the only unambiguous way to disentangle the contribution of the DVCS$^2$ term in the photon electroproduction cross section from its interference with the Bethe-Heitler amplitude. This provides a stronger way to constrain the Generalized Parton Distributions of the nucleon. A wide ran…
We present final results on the photon electroproduction ($\vec{e}p\rightarrow epγ$) cross section in the deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) regime and the valence quark region from Jefferson Lab experiment E00-110. Results from an analysis of a subset of these data were published before, but the analysis has been improved which is described here at length, together with details on the experimental setup. Furthermore, additional data have been analyzed resulting in photon electroproduction cross sections at new kinematic settings, for a total of 588 experimental bins. Results of the $Q^2…
Charge symmetry in hadronic reactions, either verified or violated, appears to be in some circumstances a mandatory guide for model-independent understanding of the structure and dynamics at play. The recent demonstration of the PEPPo concept for the production of polarized positrons opens new physics perspectives at the Jefferson Laboratory. Polarized positron beams, in complement to existing polarized electron beams, are shown to bring multi-Physics opportunities.
For the first time, baryon-antibaryon photoproduction in the reaction $γp \to Λ\barΛ p$ has been observed at photon energies from threshold near 4.9 GeV to 11.6 GeV. The measurements are in progress with the GlueX spectrometer in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. We describe here the apparatus and methods used to make these measurements and outline the physics goals of the work. Some of the newly-seen reaction phenomenology is presented.
The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) and associated experimental equipment at Jefferson Lab comprise a unique facility for experimental nuclear physics. This facility is presently being upgraded, which will enable a new experimental program with substantial discovery potential to address important topics in nuclear, hadronic, and electroweak physics. Further in the future, it is envisioned that the Laboratory will evolve into an electron-ion colliding beam facility.
Over the past decade measurements of unpolarized structure functions at Jefferson Lab with unprecedented precision have significantly advanced our knowledge of nucleon structure. These have for the first time allowed quantitative tests of the phenomenon of quark-hadron duality, and provided a deeper understanding of the transition from hadron to quark degrees of freedom in inclusive scattering. Dedicated Rosenbluth-separation experiments have yielded high-precision transverse and longitudinal structure functions in regions previously unexplored, and new techniques have enabled the first glimps…
The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) and associated experimental equipment at Jefferson Lab comprise a unique facility for experimental nuclear physics. This facility is presently being upgraded, which will enable a new experimental program with substantial discovery potential to address important topics in nuclear, hadronic, and electroweak physics. Further in the future, it is envisioned that the Laboratory will evolve into an electron-ion colliding beam facility.
Long term plans for the investigation of the quark and gluon structure of matter have for some time focussed on the possibility of an electron-ion collider, with the nuclear physics communities associated with JLab and BNL being particularly active. We briefly outline the current thinking on this subject at Jefferson lab.
Construction of the 12 GeV upgrade to the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is presently underway. This upgrade includes doubling the energy of the electron beam to 12 GeV, the addition of a new fourth experimental hall, and the construction of upgraded detector hardware. An overview of this upgrade project is presented, along with highlights of the anticipated experimental program.
Recent measurements of nucleon resonance transition form factors with CLAS at Jefferson Lab are discussed. The new data confirm the assertion of the symmetric constituent quark model of the Roper as the first radial excitation of the nucleon. For the first time, the longitudinal transition amplitude to the S11(1535) was extracted from the data. New results on the transition amplitudes for the D13(1520) resonance are presented showing a rapid transition from helicity 3/2 dominance seen at the real photon point to helicity 1/2 dominance at higher Q2. I also discuss aspects of the JLab program to…
The cross section for coherent $ω$-meson photoproduction off the deuteron has been measured for the first time as a function of the momentum transfer $t = (P_γ-P_ω)^2$ and photon energy $E_γ$ using the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The cross sections are measured in the energy range $1.4 < E_γ < 3.4$ GeV. A model based on $ω-N$ rescattering is consistent with the data at low and intermediate momentum transfer, $|t|$. For $2.8 < E_γ < 3.4$ GeV, the total cross-section of $ω-N$ scattering, based on fits within the framework of the Vector Meson Dominance mod…
A measurement of the electroproduction of photons off protons in the deeply inelastic regime was performed at Jefferson Lab using a nearly 6-GeV electron beam, a longitudinally polarized proton target and the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer. Target-spin asymmetries for $ep\to e'p'γ$ events, which arise from the interference of the deeply virtual Compton scattering and the Bethe-Heitler processes, were extracted over the widest kinematics in $Q^2$, $x_B$, $t$ and $ϕ$, for 166 four-dimensional bins. In the framework of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs), at leading twist the $t$ depende…
New data on pion-photoproduction off the proton have been included in the partial wave analyses Bonn-Gatchina and SAID and in the dynamical coupled-channel approach Jülich-Bonn. All reproduce the recent new data well: the double polarization data for E, G, H, P and T in $γp \to π^0 p$ from ELSA, the beam asymmetry $Σ$ for $γp \to π^0 p$ and $π^+ n$ from Jefferson Laboratory, and the precise new differential cross section and beam asymmetry data $Σ$ for $γp \to π^0 p$ from MAMI. The new fit results for the multipoles are compared with predictions not taking into account the new data. The mutual…
Future experiments at the Jefferson Lab 12 GeV upgrade, in particular, the Solenoidal Large Intensity Device (SoLID), aim at a very precise data set in the region where the partonic structure of the nucleon is dominated by the valence quarks. One of the main goals is to constrain the quark transversity distributions. We apply recent theoretical advances of the global QCD extraction of the transversity distributions to study the impact of future experimental data from the SoLID experiments. Especially, we develop a simple strategy based on the Hessian matrix analysis that allows one to estimate…
The strange quark hadrons sit at an important crossroads between the light and heavy quark hadrons, but their spectrum is comparatively poorly known. The KLF experiment was recently approved to run in Hall D of Jefferson Lab, and will use an intense secondary beam of $K_L$ mesons with the existing GlueX spectrometer to collect data several orders of magnitude larger than existing dataset. In this talk, I will discuss the expected physics reach of this experiment and the status of its preparations.
Double Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DDVCS) is the only experimental channel for the determination of the dependence of the Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) on both the average and the transferred momentum independently. The physics observables of the electron induced di-muon production reaction $\vv{e}^{\pm}p \to e^{\pm}pμ^+μ^-$ off unpolarized hydrogen are discussed. Their measurement with the high luminosity and large acceptance SoLID spectrometer at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, using polarized and unpolarized positron and electron beams at 11 GeV is inves…
The $π_1(1600)$, a $J^{PC} = 1^{-+}$ exotic meson has been observed by experiments using pion beams. Theorists predict that photon beams could produce gluonic hybrid mesons, of which the $π_1(1600)$ is a candidate, at enhanced levels relative to pion beams. The g12 rungroup at Jefferson Lab's CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) has recently acquired a large photoproduction dataset, using a liquid hydrogen target and tagged photons from a 5.71 GeV electron beam. A partial-wave analysis of 502K $γp \to π^+π^+π^-n$ events selected from the g12 dataset has been performed, and preliminary fi…
We report on the low and moderate Q^2 nucleon spin structure measurements done at Jefferson Lab, examining specifically the inclusive program. We discuss what the data teach us about quark confinement and the emergence of the effective hadronic degrees of freedom from the fundamental partonic ones. We show how this experimental program has reached its goal by providing a precise mapping at low, intermediate and moderately high Q^2 which has followed in many advances, e.g., with Chiral Perturbation Theory. Another example of a recent advance imputable to the JLab spin data is the improved under…
Updated results of the experiment E94-107 hypernuclear spectroscopy in Hall A of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), are presented. The experiment provides high resolution spectra of excitation energy for 12B_Λ, 16N_Λ, and 9Li_Λhypernuclei obtained by electroproduction of strangeness. A new theoretical calculation for 12B_Λ, final results for 16N_Λ, and discussion of the preliminary results of 9Li_Λare reported.
We summarize the experimental program of Jefferson Lab that studies the nucleon spin structure at low $Q^2$. This program completes the precise experimental mapping of the nucleon spin structure functions $g_1(ν, Q^2)$ and $g_2(ν, Q^2)$ and their moments started at SLAC, CERN and DESY at high $Q^2$, and continued at Jefferson Lab at intermediate $Q^2$. The results presented cover the domain where Chiral Effective Field Theory ($χ$EFT) should describe the strong interaction. They provide a comprehensive set of benchmark measurements for $χ$EFT. The preliminary conclusion is that nucleon spin st…
The success of the ambitious programs of both long- and short-baseline neutrino-oscillation experiments employing liquid-argon time-projection chambers will greatly rely on the precision with which the weak response of the argon nucleus can be estimated. In the E12-14-012 experiment at Jefferson Lab Hall A, we have studied the properties of the argon nucleus by scattering a high-quality electron beam off a high-pressure gaseous argon target. Here, we present the measured $^{40}$Ar$(e,e^{\prime})$ double differential cross section at incident electron energy $E=2.222$~GeV and scattering angle $…
The duality between the partonic and hadronic descriptions of electron--nucleon scattering is a remarkable feature of nuclear interactions. When averaged over appropriate energy intervals the cross section at low energy which is dominated by nucleon resonances resembles the smooth behavior expected from perturbative QCD. Recent Jefferson Lab results indicate that quark-hadron duality is present in a variety of observables, not just the proton F2 structure function. An overview of recent results, especially local quark-hadron duality on the neutron, are presented here.
We present measurements of the ep->ep pi^0 cross section extracted at two values of four-momentum transfer Q^2=1.9 GeV^2 and Q^2=2.3 GeV^2 at Jefferson Lab Hall A. The kinematic range allows to study the evolution of the extracted hadronic tensor as a function of Q^2 and W. Results will be confronted with Regge inspired calculations and GPD predictions. An intepretation of our data within the framework of semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering has also been attempted.
This report reviews the recent experimental results from the CLAS collaboration (Hall B of Jefferson Lab, or JLab) on Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) and Deeply Virtual Meson Production (DVMP) and discusses their interpretation in the framework of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs). The impact of the experimental data on the applicability of the GPD mechanism to these exclusive reactions is discussed. Initial results obtained from JLab 6 GeV data indicate that DVCS might already be interpretable in this framework while GPD models fail to describe the exclusive meson production (D…
Baryons are complex systems of confined quarks and gluons and exhibit the characteristic spectra of excited states. The systematics of the baryon excitation spectrum is important to our understanding of the effective degrees of freedom underlying nucleon matter. High-energy electrons and photons are a remarkably clean probe of hadronic matter, providing a microscope for examining the nucleon and the strong nuclear force. Current experimental efforts with the CLAS spectrometer at Jefferson Laboratory utilize highly-polarized frozen-spin targets in combination with polarized photon beams. The st…
We comment on the important phenomenological aspects of the recent high-statistics and wide-angle coverage $ϕ$ photoproduction data from CLAS at Jefferson Lab. The most prominent feature is a localized structure at a center-of-mass (c.m) energy $\sqrt{s} \sim 2.2$ GeV that is not expected in a simple $t$-channel Pomeron-exchange model. The structure exists only at the forward production angles that almost rules out any resonance contribution. Strong rescattering effects between the $p ϕ$ and $K^+Λ(1520)$ channels could be possible explanations. The analyses of both charged- ($ϕ\to K^+ K^-$) an…
A wide range of nucleon and nuclear structure experiments in Jefferson Lab's Hall A require precise, continuous measurements of the polarization of the electron beam. In our Compton polarimeter, electrons are scattered off photons in a Fabry-Perot cavity; by measuring an asymmetry in the integrated signal of the scattered photons detected in a GSO crystal, we can make non-invasive, continuous measurements of the beam polarization. Our goal is to achieve 1% statistical error within two hours of running. We discuss the design and commissioning of an upgrade to this apparatus, and report prelimin…
The AI for Experimental Controls project is developing an AI system to control and calibrate detector systems located at Jefferson Laboratory. Currently, calibrations are performed offline and require significant time and attention from experts. This work would reduce the amount of data and the amount of time spent calibrating in an offline setting. The first use case involves the Central Drift Chamber (CDC) located inside the GlueX spectrometer in Hall D. We use a combination of environmental and experimental data, such as atmospheric pressure, gas temperature, and the flux of incident partic…