Separated response functions in exclusive, forward ${\pi }^{\pm }$ electroproduction on deuterium

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Physical Review C, Nuclear Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.015202· OSTI ID:1396041

Huber, G. M.; Blok, H. P.; Butuceanu, C.; Gaskell, D.; Horn, T.; Mack, D. J.; Abbott, D.; Aniol, K.; Anklin, H.; Armstrong, C.; Arrington, J.; Assamagan, K.; Avery, S.; Baker, O. K.; Barrett, B.; Beise, E. J.; Bochna, C.; Boeglin, W.; Brash, E. J.; Breuer, H. ; Chang, C. C.; Chant, N.; Christy, M. E.; Dunne, J.; Eden, T.; Ent, R.; Fenker, H.; Gibson, E. F.; Gilman, R.; Gustafsson, K.; Hinton, W.; Holt, R. J.; Jackson, H.; Jin, S.; Jones, M. K.; Keppel, C. E.; Kim, P. H.; Kim, W.; King, P. M.; Klein, A.; Koltenuk, D.; Kovaltchouk, V.; Liang, M.; Liu, J.; Lolos, G. J.; Lung, A.; Margaziotis, D. J.; Markowitz, P.; Matsumura, A.; McKee, D.; Meekins, D.; Mitchell, J.; Miyoshi, T.; Mkrtchyan, H.; Mueller, B.; Niculescu, G.; Niculescu, I.; Okayasu, Y.; Pentchev, L.; Perdrisat, C.; Pitz, D.; Potterveld, D.; Punjabi, V.; Qin, L. M.; Reimer, P. E.; Reinhold, J.; Roche, J.; Roos, P. G.; Sarty, A.; Shin, I. K.; Smith, G. R.; Stepanyan, S.; Tang, L. G.; Tadevosyan, V.; Tvaskis, V.; van der Meer, R. L. J.; Vansyoc, K.; Van Westrum, D.; Vidakovic, S.; Volmer, J.; Vulcan, W.; Warren, G.; Wood, S. A.; Xu, C.; Yan, C.; Zhao, W. -X.; Zheng, X.; Zihlmann, B.

Background: Measurements of forward exclusive meson production at different squared four-momenta of the exchanged virtual photon, Q(2), and at different four-momentum transfer, t, can be used to probe QCD's transition from meson-nucleon degrees of freedom at long distances to quark-gluon degrees of freedom at short scales. Ratios of separated response functions in pi(-) and pi(+) electroproduction are particularly informative. The ratio for transverse photons may allow this transition to be more easily observed, while the ratio for longitudinal photons provides a crucial verification of the assumed pole dominance, needed for reliable extraction of the pion form factor from electroproduction data. Purpose: We perform the first complete separation of the four unpolarized electromagnetic structure functions L/T/LT/TT in forward, exclusive pi(+/-) electroproduction on deuterium above the dominant resonances. Method: Data were acquired with 2.6-5.2-GeV electron beams and the HMS + SOS spectrometers in Jefferson Lab Hall C at central Q(2) values of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.6 GeV2 at W = 1.95 GeV, and Q(2) = 2.45 GeV2 at W = 2.22 GeV. There was significant coverage in phi and is an element of, which allowed separation of sigma(L), T, LT, TT. Results: sigma(L) shows a clear signature of the pion pole, with a sharp rise at small -t. In contrast, sigma(T) is much flatter versus t. The longitudinal/transverse ratios evolve with Q(2) and t and at the highest Q(2) = 2.45 GeV2 show a slight enhancement for pi(-) production compared to pi(+). The pi(-)/pi(+) ratio for transverse photons exhibits only a small Q(2) dependence, following a nearly universal curve with t, with a steep transition to a value of about 0.25, consistent with s-channel quark knockout. The sigma(TT)/sigma(T) ratio also drops rapidly with Q(2), qualitatively consistent with s-channel helicity conservation. The pi(-)/pi(+) ratio for longitudinal photons indicates a small isoscalar contamination at W = 1.95 GeV, consistent with what was observed in our earlier determination of the pion form factor at these kinematics. Conclusions: The separated cross sections are compared to a variety of theoretical models, which generally describe sigma(L) but have varying success with sigma(T). Further theoretical input is required to provide a more profound insight into the relevant reaction mechanisms for longitudinal and transverse photons, such as whether the observed transverse ratio is indeed attributable to a transition from pion to quark knockout mechanisms and provide useful information regarding the twist-3 transversity generalized parton distribution, H-T

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); USDOE Office of Science - Office of Nuclear Physics
• Contributing Organization: Jefferson Lab F_{π} Collaboration
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1396041
• Journal Information: Physical Review C, Nuclear Physics, Vol. 91, Issue 1; ISSN 0556-2813
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY