Measurement of the beam asymmetry Σ in πeta; production off the proton with the CBELSA/TAPS experiment?

In photoproduction experiments, a large number of final states yielding various resonance contributions are accessible. To extract resonance parameters via partial-wave analysis not only the measurement of differential cross-sections is necessary, but also the determination of polarization observables. At the electron accelerator ELSA (Bonn) the coherent bremsstrahlung method was used to generate a linearly polarized photon beam. Using the CBELSA/TAPS detector setup, the beam asymmetry Σ in the reaction γp → pπ⁰η was determined as a function of various masses and angles for photon energies between 970MeV and 1650MeV.     

Separated cross-sections in \pi^{0}_{} electroproduction at threshold at Q2 = 0.05GeV2/c2

The differential cross-sections σ₀ = σ_T + εσ_L , σ_LT , and σ_TT of electroproduction from the proton were measured from threshold up to an additional center-of-mass energy of 40MeV, at a value of the photon four-momentum transfer of Q ² = 0.05 GeV²/c² and a center-of-mass angle of θ = 90^° . By an additional out-of-plane measurement with polarized electrons σ_LT' was determined. This showed for the first time the presence of an imaginary part of the s -wave above the threshold, which is usually interpreted as a unitary cusp. The predictions of the Heavy Baryon Chiral Perturbation Theory (HBChPT) are in disagreement with these data. On the other hand, the data are somewhat better predicted by the MAID phenomenological model and are in good agreement with the dynamical model DMT.     

Sivers effect for pion and kaon production in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering

We study the Sivers effect in the transverse single spin asymmetries (SSA) for pion and kaon production in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) processes. We perform a fit of which, by including recent high-statistics experimental data for pion and kaon production from HERMES and COMPASS Collaborations, allows a new determination of the Sivers distribution functions for quarks and antiquarks with u , d and s flavours. Estimates for forthcoming SIDIS experiments at COMPASS and JLab are given.     

Neutral pion photoproduction at high energies

A Regge model with absorptive corrections is employed in a global analysis of the world data on the reactions p p and n n for photon energies from 3 to 18GeV. In this region resonance contributions are expected to be negligible so that the available experimental information on differential cross-sections and single and double polarization observables at - t 2 GeV²allows us to determine the reaction amplitude reliably. The model amplitude is then used to predict observables for photon energies below 3GeV. A detailed comparison with recent data from the CLAS and CB-ELSA Collaborations in that energy region is presented. Furthermore, the prospects for determining the radiative decay width via the Primakoff effect from the reaction p p are explored.     

Exclusive meson production at HERMES

Hard exclusive production of mesons in deep-inelastic scattering allows one to probe the so-far unknown Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) of the nucleon. The HERMES experiment has measured several different observables in exclusive meson production by scattering the 27.6GeV HERA lepton beam off an internal fixed gaseous target. Recent results on exclusive π ⁺, ρ ⁰ and pion pair production will be presented.     

Measurement of πphotoproduction on the proton from 550 to 1500 MeV at GRAAL

Neutral pion photoproduction has been measured from 550 to 1500 MeV with the GRAAL facility, located at the ESRF in Grenoble. Differential cross-section and beam asymmetry have been measured over a wide angular range. These high-precision data improve significantly the database for the beam asymmetry in the second and third resonance regions covering for the first time the energy domain 1100-1500 MeV. New partial-wave analyses including these data are presented for which the beam asymmetry brings crucial constraints.     

Backward asymmetry measurements in the elastic pion-proton scattering at resonance energies

The asymmetry parameter P was measured for the elastic pion-proton scattering in the very backward angular region of 150 - 170^° at several pion beam energies in the invariant-mass range containing most of the pion-proton resonances. The general goal of the experimental program was to provide new data for partial wave analyses in order to resolve their uncertainties in the baryon resonance region to allow the unambiguous baryon spectrum reconstructions. Until recently the parameter P was not measured in the examined domain that might be explained by the extremely low cross-section. At the same time the predictions of various partial wave analyses are far from agreement in some kinematic areas and specifically those areas were chosen for the measurements where the disagreement is most pronouncing. The experiment was performed at the ITEP U-10 proton synchrotron, Moscow, by the ITEP-PNPI Collaboration in the latest 5 years.     

Measurement of η photoproduction on the proton from threshold to 1500 MeV

Beam asymmetry and differential cross-section for the reaction γp → ηp were measured from production threshold to 1500MeV photon laboratory energy. The two dominant neutral decay modes of the η -meson, η → 2γ and η → 3π⁰ , were analyzed. The full set of measurements is in good agreement with previously published results. Our data were compared with three models. They all fit satisfactorily the results but their respective resonance contributions are quite different. The possible photoexcitation of a narrow state N(1670) was investigated and no evidence was found.     

Spin density matrix elements in exclusive ρ0 electroproduction on?1H and 2H targets at 27.5?GeV beam?energy

Spin Density Matrix Elements (SDMEs) describing the angular distribution of exclusive ρ ⁰ electroproduction and decay are determined in the HERMES experiment with 27.6 GeV beam energy and unpolarized hydrogen and deuterium targets. Eight (fifteen) SDMEs that are related (unrelated) to the longitudinal polarization of the beam are extracted in the kinematic region 1<Q ²<7 GeV², 3.0<W<6.3 GeV, and −t<0.4 GeV². Within the given experimental uncertainties, a hierarchy of relative sizes of helicity amplitudes is observed. Kinematic dependences of all SDMEs on Q ² and t are presented, as well as the longitudinal-to-transverse ρ ⁰ electroproduction cross-section ratio as a function of Q ². A small but statistically significant deviation from the hypothesis of s-channel helicity conservation is observed. An indication is seen of a contribution of unnatural-parity-exchange amplitudes; these amplitudes are naturally generated with a quark-exchange mechanism.     

Effect of top quark spin on the unparticle couplings in $\gamma\gamma \to t\bar{t}$

We investigate the potential of γ γ collisions to probe scalar unparticle couplings via top–antitop quark pair production. We find 95% confidence level limits on the unparticle couplings with an integrated luminosity of 500 fb⁻¹ and an energy of  TeV. We investigate the effect of the top quark spin polarization on the unparticle couplings. It is shown that spin polarization of the top quark leads to a significant improvement in the sensitivity limits.     

Longitudinal and transverse target-spin asymmetries associated with DVCS on the proton at HERMES

Measurements of azimuthal cross-section asymmetries from deeply virtual Compton scattering on transversely and longitudinally polarized hydrogen and longitudinally polarized deuterium targets at HERMES are reported. By comparing the HERMES results on the transverse target-spin asymmetry with theoretical calculations based on a phenomenological model of generalized parton distributions, a model-dependent constraint on the total angular momentum carried by quarks in the nucleon is obtained.     

Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering processes from small to large P<Subscript>T</Subscript>

We consider the azimuthal and P_T-dependence of hadrons produced in unpolarized Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering (SIDIS) processes, within the factorized QCD parton model. It is shown that at small P_T values, P _T ≲ 1GeV/c, lowest-order contributions, coupled to unintegrated (transverse-momentum-dependent) quark distribution and fragmentation functions, describe all data. At larger P_T values, P _T ≳ 1GeV/c, the usual pQCD higher-order collinear contributions dominate. Having explained the full P_T range of available data, we give new detailed predictions concerning the azimuthal and P_T-dependence of hadrons which could be measured in ongoing or planned experiments by HERMES, COMPASS and JLab Collaborations.     

Meson photoproduction on the nucleon with polarized photons

Meson photoproduction with polarized photons has proved to be a powerful tool to identify contributions of baryon resonances that are not evident in the differential cross-sections. It provides information that are complementary to those extracted using pion-nucleon scattering data. Extensive results have been produced in the past on beam asymmetries by the Graal collaboration for η and π ⁰ on the proton. New results are now available for the same reactions on the quasi-free neutron and for the K⁺ photoproduction on the proton. Contributions from hitherto undetected baryon resonances may be important to understand the results.     

Measurement of the beam asymmetry in η photoproduction off the proton

The beam asymmetry, Σ , was measured at ELSA in the reaction p → ηp using linearly polarised tagged photon beams, produced by coherent bremsstrahlung off a diamond. The crystal was oriented to provide polarised photons in the energy range E _γ = 800 to 1400MeV with the maximum polarisation of P _γ = 49 % obtained at 1305MeV. Both dominant decay modes of the η into two photons and 3π⁰ were used to extract the beam asymmetry from the azimuthal modulation of the cross-section. The measurements cover the angular range Θ_cm ≃ 50 -150 degrees. Large asymmetries up to 80% are observed, in agreement with a previous measurement. The eta-MAID model and the Bonn-Gatchina partial wave analysis describe the measurements, but the required partial waves differ significantly.     

First measurement of the hydrogen spin-exchange collision cross-section in the low temperature region

The spin-exchange collision cross-section for hydrogen atoms has been measured for the first time in the low temperature range 40–100 K by using the polarized hydrogen gas target of the HERMES experiment at DESY (Hamburg, Germany). The results agree with a previous measurement in the overlapping temperature region 80–100 K, while seem to hint an increasing behaviour with temperature in the region 50–80 K.     

Dilepton-tagged $Q\overline{Q}+\mathrm{jet}$ events at the LHC

We propose a new method for identifying and isolating events through semileptonic decays of the pair. Employing these decay dileptons to tag the jet in a specific kinematic region provides a clean signature of jets associated with heavy-quark production. The measurement, in both pp and heavy-ion collisions, is essential for addressing heavy-quark fragmentation in vacuum and in a dense medium. We present next-to-leading order calculations of production (leading order in production) in TeV pp collisions at the LHC and discuss the feasibility of the measurement in heavy-ion collisions at TeV.     

Backward pion photoproduction

We present a systematic analysis of backward pion photoproduction for the reactions p p and p n . Regge phenomenology is applied at invariant collision energies above 3GeV in order to fix the reaction amplitude. A comparision with older data on - and -photoproduction at = 180^° indicates that the high-energy limit as given by the Regge calculation could be reached possibly at energies of around ≃ 3 GeV. In the energy region of 2.5 GeV, covered by the new measurements of p p differential cross-sections at large angles at ELSA, JLab, and LEPS, we see no clear signal for a convergence towards the Regge results. The baryon trajectories obtained in our analysis are in good agreement with those given by the spectrum of excited baryons.     

Meson cloud of the nucleon in polarized semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering

We investigate the possibility of identifying an explicit pionic component of the nucleon through measurements of polarized ⁺⁺ baryon fragments produced in deep-inelastic leptoproduction off polarized protons, which may help to identify the physical mechanism responsible for the breaking of the Gottfried sum rule. The pion-exchange model predicts highly correlated polarizations of the ⁺⁺ and target proton, in marked contrast with the competing diquark fragmentation process. Measurement of asymmetries in polarized production may also reveal the presence of a kaon cloud in the nucleon.Communicated by: W. Weise     

On the perturbative stability of the QCD predictions for the ratio R=FL/FT in heavy-quark leptoproduction

We analyze the perturbative and parametric stability of the QCD predictions for the Callan–Gross ratio, R(x,Q ²)=F _L /F _T , in heavy-quark leptoproduction. We consider the radiative corrections to the dominant photon–gluon fusion mechanism. In various kinematic regions, the following contributions are investigated: exact NLO results at low and moderate Q ²≲m ², asymptotic NLO predictions at high Q ²≫m ², and both NLO and NNLO soft-gluon (or threshold) corrections at large Bjorken variable x. Our analysis shows that large radiative corrections to the structure functions F _T (x,Q ²) and F _L (x,Q ²) cancel each other in their ratio R(x,Q ²) with good accuracy. As a result, the NLO contributions to the Callan–Gross ratio are less than 10% in a wide region of the variables x and Q ². We provide compact LO predictions for R(x,Q ²) in the case of low x ≪1. A simple formula connecting the high-energy behavior of the Callan–Gross ratio and low-x asymptotics of the gluon density is derived. It is shown that the obtained hadron-level predictions for R(x→0,Q ²) are stable under the DGLAP evolution of the gluon distribution function. Our analytic results simplify the extraction of the structure functions F ₂ ^c (x,Q ²) and F ₂ ^b (x,Q ²) from measurements of the corresponding reduced cross sections, in particular at DESY HERA.