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.
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…
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…
The charge and magnetization distributions of the proton and neutron are encoded in their elastic electromagnetic form factors, which can be measured in elastic electron--nucleon scattering. By measuring the form factors, we probe the spatial distribution of the proton charge and magnetization, providing the most direct connection to the spatial distribution of quarks inside the proton. For decades, the form factors were probed through measurements of unpolarized elastic electron scattering, but by the 1980s, progress slowed dramatically due to the intrinsic limitations of the unpolarized meas…
Precise proton and neutron form factor measurements at Jefferson Lab, using spin observables, have recently made a significant contribution to the unraveling of the internal structure of the nucleon. Accurate experimental measurements of the nucleon form factors are a test-bed for understanding how the nucleon's static properties and dynamical behavior emerge from QCD, the theory of the strong interactions between quarks. There has been enormous theoretical progress, since the publication of the Jefferson Lab proton form factor ratio data, aiming at reevaluating the picture of the nucleon. We …
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…
Recent results on studies of the structure of nucleons and nuclei in the regime of strong interaction QCD are discussed. Use of high current polarized electron beams, polarized targets, and recoil polarimeters, in conjunction with modern spectrometers and detector instrumentation allow much more detailed studies of nucleon and nuclear structure than has been possible in the past. The CEBAF accelerator at Jefferson Lab was build to study the internal structure of hadrons in a regime where confinement is important and strong interaction QCD is the relevant theory. I discuss how the first experim…
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…
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.
Nucleon transversity and single transverse spin asymmetries have been the recent focus of large efforts by both theorists and experimentalists. On-going and planned experiments from HERMES, COMPASS and RHIC are mostly on the proton or the deuteron. Presented here is a planned measurement of the neutron transversity and single target spin asymmetries at Jefferson Lab in Hall A using a transversely polarized $^3$He target. Also presented are the results and plans of other neutron transverse spin experiments at Jefferson Lab. Finally, the factorization for semi-inclusive DIS studies at Jefferson …
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.
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…
In order to accept very forward angle scattering particles, Jefferson Lab HKS experiment uses an on-target zero degree dipole magnet. The usual spectrometer optics calibration procedure has to be modified due to this on-target field. This paper describes a new method to calibrate HKS spectrometer system. The simulation of the calibration procedure shows the required resolution can be achieved from initially inaccurate optical description.
An overview of the CLAS12 detector is presented and the initial physics program after the energy-doubling of the Jefferson Lab electron accelerator. Construction of the 12 GeV upgrade project has started October 2008. A broad program has been developed to map the nucleon's 3-dimensional spin and flavor content through the measurement of deeply exclusive and semi-inclusive processes. Other programs include forward distribution function to large $x_{B} \le 0.85$ and of the quark and gluon polarized distribution functions, as well as nucleon ground state and transition form factors at high $Q^2$.…
Experimental results for photo- and electro-production of open strangeness from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are discussed. The results are from work completed by mid-2003 on elementary $KY$ production, nuclear targets, and the exotic $Θ^+$ state. It is shown how the increases in intensity and precision of JLab experiments over earlier work have allowed new phenomena to become measurable.
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.
Recent studies at Jefferson Lab show that there are a certain proportion of nucleons in nuclei have momenta greater than the so-called nuclear Fermi momentum $p_{F}$. Based on the transport model of nucleus-nucleus collisions at intermediate energies, nucleon high momentum caused by the neutron-proton short-range correlations in nuclei is constrained by comparing with $π$ and photon experimental data and considering some uncertainties. The high momentum cutoff value $p_{max}$ $\leq$ 2$p_{F}$ is obtained.
The ratio of the proton form factors, GEp/GMp, has been measured from Q2 of 0.5 GeV2 to 8.5 GeV2, at the Jefferson Laboratory, using the polarization transfer method. This ratio is extracted directly from the measured ratio of the transverse and longitudinal polarization components of the recoiling proton in elastic electron-proton scattering. The discovery that the proton form factor ratio measured in these experiments decreases approximately linearly with four-momentum transfer, Q2, for values above ? 1 GeV2, is one of the most significant results to come out of JLab. These results have had …
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.
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.
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.
A proposal approved by the Jefferson Lab PAC to study semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (DIS) off the deuteron, tagged with high momentum recoiling protons or neutrons emitted at large angle relative to the momentum transfer. This experiment aims at studying the virtuality dependence of the bound nucleon structure function as a possible cause to the EMC effect and the EMC-SRC correlations. The experiment was approved in 2011 for a total run time of 40 days.
We present the recent JLab measurements on moments of spin structure functions at intermediate and low Q^2. The Bjorken sum and Burkhardt-Cottingham sum on the neutron are presented. The later appears to hold. Higher moments (generalized spin polarizabilities and d_2^n) are shown and compared to chiral perturbation theory and lattice QCD respectively.
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.
Precision measurements in the neutrino sector are becoming increasingly feasible due to the development of relatively high-rate experimental capabilities. These important developments command renewed attention to the systematic corrections needed to interpret the data. Hadronic multi-particle final state measurements made using CLAS at Jefferson Lab, together with a broad theoretical effort that links electro-nucleus and neutrino-nucleus data, will address this problem, and will elucidate long-standing problems in intermediate energy nuclear physics. This new work will ultimately enable precis…
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.
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.
The deuteron elastic structure function A(Q^2) has been extracted in the Q^2 range 0.7 to 6.0 (GeV/c)^2 from cross section measurements of elastic electron-deuteron scattering in coincidence using the Hall A Facility of Jefferson Laboratory. The data are compared to theoretical models based on the impulse approximation with inclusion of meson-exchange currents, and to predictions of quark dimensional scaling and perturbative quantum chromodynamics
The E12-14-012 experiment, performed in Jefferson Lab Hall A, has collected exclusive electron-scattering data (e,e$^\prime$p) in parallel kinematics using natural argon and natural titanium targets. Here, we report the first results of the analysis of the data set corresponding to beam energy of 2,222 MeV, electron scattering angle 21.5 deg, and proton emission angle -50 deg. The differential cross sections, measured with $\sim$4% uncertainty, have been studied as a function of missing energy and missing momentum, and compared to the results of Monte Carlo simulations, obtained from a model b…
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.
Recent results from JLab on the electromagnetic excitation of nucleon resonances are presented, and confronted with theoretical predictions. Preliminary data in the search for undiscovered states are discussed as well.
The characteristics of the Jefferson Lab electron beam, together with those of the experimental equipment, offer a unique opportunity to study hypernuclear spectroscopy via electromagnetic induced reactions. Experiment 94-107 started a systematic study on 1p-shell targets, $^{12}C$, $^{9}Be$ and $^{16}O$. For $^{12}C$ for the first time measurable strength in the core-excited part of the spectrum between the ground state and the p state was shown in $^{12}_ΛB$ spectrum. A high-quality $^{16}_ΛN$ spectrum was produced for the first time with sub-MeV energy resolution. A very precise $Λ$ binding…
Lowest-order QED radiative corrections in unpolarized elastic electron-deuteron scattering beyond the ultra-relativistic limit for the proposed deuteron charge radius measurement at Jefferson Laboratory
The physics of the nucleon form factors is a fundamental part of the Jefferson Laboratory program. We review the achievements of the 6-GeV era and the program with the 12- GeV beam with the SBS spectrometer in Hall A, with a focus on the nucleon ground state properties.
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.
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…
The internal structure of the nucleon is discussed within the context of QCD. Recent progress in understanding the distribution of flavor and spin in the nucleon is reviewed, and prospects for extending our knowledge of nucleon structure in electron scattering experiments at modern facilities such as Jefferson Lab are outlined.
After about 10 years of growing interest for Generalized Parton Distributions come the first results from dedicated experiments, using the golden Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering process. After a short introduction, we will explain the experimental methodology andshow results of the Hall A E00-110 experiment, which aimed at measuring helicity-dependent photon electroproduction cross sections. We will enphasize how this experiment provided the first stringent tests of the scaling property of this process, allowing for the first time a model-independent extraction of a linear combination of Gen…
The radiation and ionization energy loss are presented for single arm Monte Carlo simulation for the GDH sum rule experiment in Hall-A at Jefferson Lab. Radiation and ionization energy loss are discussed for $^{12}C$ elastic scattering simulation. The relative momentum ratio $\frac{Δp}{p}$ and $^{12}C$ elastic cross section are compared without and with Radiation Energy Loss and a reasonable shape is obtained by the simulation. The total energy loss distribution is obtained, showing a Landau shape for $^{12}C$ elastic scattering. This simulation work will give good support for radiation correc…
Jefferson Lab (JLab) 12 GeV energy upgrade provides a golden opportunity to perform precision studies of the transverse spin and transverse-momentum-dependent structure in the valence quark region for both the proton and the neutron. In this paper, we focus our discussion on a recently approved experiment on the neutron as an example of the precision studies planned at JLab. The new experiment will perform precision measurements of target Single Spin Asymmetries (SSA) from semi-inclusive electro-production of charged pions from a 40-cm long transversely polarized $^3$He target in Deep-Inelasti…
We present studies of single-spin and double-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive electroproduction of pions using the CEBAF 6 GeV polarized electron beam. Kinematic dependences of single and double spin asymmetries have been measured in a wide kinematic range at CLAS with a polarized NH$_3$ target. Significant target-spin $\sin2ϕ$ and $\sinϕ$ asymmetries have been observed. The hypothesis of factorization has been tested with $z$-dependence of the double spin asymmetry.
Low-energy neutral-current couplings arising in the Standard Model of electroweak interactions can be constrained in lepton scattering off hydrogen or a nuclear fixed target. Recent polarized electron scattering experiments at Jefferson Lab (JLab) have improved the precision in the parity-violating types of effective couplings. On the other hand, the only known way to access the parity-conserving counterparts is to compare scattering cross sections between a lepton and an anti-lepton beam. We review the current knowledge of both types of couplings and how to constrain them. We also present exp…
Recent evidence for the existence of pentaquark $Θ^+$ particle from several experiments at several different laboratories around the world has caused great excitement and raised many unanswered questions. We discuss a new proposal on a high resolution experiment searching for pentaquark states in Hall C at Jefferson Lab using an untagged bremsstrahlung photon beam employing both the hydrogen and the deuterium targets by studying the following processes: $γp \to Θ^{++} K^-$, and $γn \to Θ^+ K^-$. This new experiment will significantly improve our current knowledge of the mass, the width of the …
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…
We present measurements of the differential cross section and Lambda recoil polarization for the gamma p to K+ Lambda reaction made using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. These measurements cover the center-of-mass energy range from 1.62 to 2.84 GeV and a wide range of center-of-mass K+ production angles. Independent analyses were performed using the K+ p pi- and K+ p (missing pi -) final-state topologies; results from these analyses were found to exhibit good agreement. These differential cross section measurements show excellent agreement with previous CLAS and LEPS results and offer incr…
I discuss recent results on the electroproduction and photoproduction of mesons in the region of non-strange baryon resonances. Results on the quadrupole transition from the ground state nucleon to the Delta(1232) show the importance of pion cloud contributions to explain the observed quadrupole transition multipoles. The excitation of the "Roper" resonance is being studied in single pion production using unpolarized cross sections measurements and beam spin asymmetries. New results on the S_{11}(1535) transition formfactor give now a consistent picture over a large Q2 range. First results on …
A new tagged photon beam facility is being constructed in experimental Hall-D at Jefferson Lab as a part of the 12 GeV upgrade program. The 9 GeV linearly-polarized photon beam will be produced via coherent Bremsstrahlung using the CEBAF electron beam, incident on a diamond radiator. The GlueX experiment in Hall-D will use this photon beam to search for and study the pattern of gluonic excitations in the meson spectrum produced through photoproduction reactions with a liquid hydrogen target. Recent lattice QCD calculations predict a rich spectrum of hybrid mesons, that are formed by exciting t…
Motivated by the emerging possibilities to study threshold pion electroproduction at large momentum transfers at Jefferson Laboratory following the 12 GeV upgrade, we provide a short theory summary and an estimate of the nucleon axial form factor for large virtualities in the $Q^2 = 1-10~\text{GeV}^2$ range using next-to-leading order light-cone sum rules.
High quality polarized electron beams at Jefferson Lab make possible precision measurements of hadronic properties in the regime of strongly interacting QCD. We will describe a few programs at Jefferson Lab that are making measurements that link the basic static properties of hadrons to their quark sub-structure. For example, parity-violating electron proton elastic scattering probes the spatial distribution of strange quarks in the nucleon. The nucleon-Delta transition form factors give us information about the deformation of nucleons and Deltas. Finally, new high statistics measurements of p…
A precision measurment of inclusive electron scattering cross sections was carried out at Jefferson Lab in the quasi-elastic region for ${^4}$He, ${^{12}}$C, ${^{56}}$Fe and ${^{208}}$Pb targets. Longitudinal ($R_{L}$) and transverse ($R_{T}$) response functions of nucleon were extracted in the momentum transfer range 0.55 GeV/c$\le$$|q|$$\le$1.0 GeV/c. To achieve the above goal, a NaI (Tl) calorimeter was used to distinguish good electrons from background including pions and low energy electrons rescattered from walls of the spectrometer magnets. Due to a large set of kinematics and changes i…
Recent results on inclusive and exclusive electroproduction experiments at Jefferson Lab are discussed. They include measurements of the spin responses for protons and neutrons in and above the resonance region, exclusive single and double pion production to measure resonance transition multipoles, and searches for predicted yet unobserved quark model states. A brief outlook into the new domain of generalized parton distribution is given as well.
A Jefferson Lab experiment proposal was discussed in this talk. The experiment is designed to measure the beam-target double-spin asymmetries $A_{1n}^h$ in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic $\vec n({\vec e}, e^\prime π^+)X$ and $\vec n({\vec e}, e^\prime π^-)X$ reactions on a longitudinally polarized $^3$He target. In addition to $A_{1n}^h$, the flavor non-singlet combination $A_{1n}^{π^+ - π^-}$, in which the gluons do not contribute, will be determined with high precision to extract $Δd_v(x)$ independent of the knowledge of the fragmentation functions. The data will also impose strong constraint…
