Photoproduction of the $f_2\left(1270\right)$ Meson Using the CLAS Detector

Journal Article · Thu Feb 25 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.126.082002· OSTI ID:1775337

Carver, M.; Celentano, A.; Hicks, K.; Marsicano, L.; Mathieu, V.; Pilloni, A.; Adhikari, K.  P.; Adhikari, S.; Amaryan, M.  J.; Angelini, G.; Atac, H.; Baltzell, N.  A.; Barion, L.; Battaglieri, M.; Bedlinskiy, I.; Benmokhtar, F.; Bianconi, A.; Biselli, A.  S.; Bondi, M.; Bossù, F. ; Boiarinov, S.; Briscoe, W.  J.; Brooks, W.  K.; Bulumulla, D.; Burkert, V.  D.; Carman, D.  S.; Carvajal, J.  C.; Chatagnon, P.; Chetry, T.; Ciullo, G.; Clark, L.; Clary, B.  A.; Cole, P.  L.; Contalbrigo, M.; Crede, V.; D’Angelo, A.; Dashyan, N.; De Vita, R.; Defurne, M.; Deur, A.; Diehl, S.; Djalali, C.; Dugger, M.; Dupre, R.; Egiyan, H.; Ehrhart, M.; Alaoui, A. El; Fassi, L. El; Eugenio, P.; Fedotov, G.; Fegan, S.; Filippi, A.; Gavalian, G.; Gevorgyan, N.; Gilfoyle, G.  P.; Girod, F.  X.; Gothe, R.  W.; Griffioen, K.  A.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hattawy, M.; Hayward, T.  B.; Heddle, D.; Holtrop, M.; Huang, Q.; Hyde, C.  E.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D.  G.; Isupov, E.  L.; Jenkins, D.; Jo, H.  S.; Joo, K.; Joosten, S.; Keller, D.; Khanal, A.; Khandaker, M.; Kim, A.; Kim, C.  W.; Klein, F.  J.; Kripko, A.; Kubarovsky, V.; Lanza, L.; Leali, M.; Lenisa, P.; Livingston, K.; MacGregor, I.  J. D.; Marchand, D.; Mascagna, V.; McCracken, M.  E.; McKinnon, B.; Meziani, Z.  E.; Mokeev, V.; Movsisyan, A.; Munevar, E.; Camacho, C. Munoz; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Neupane, K.; Niccolai, S.; Niculescu, G.; Osipenko, M.; Ostrovidov, A.  I.; Paolone, M.; Pappalardo, L.  L.; Paremuzyan, R.; Pasyuk, E.; Phelps, W.; Pogorelko, O.; Prok, Y.; Protopopescu, D.; Ripani, M.; Ritchie, B.  G.; Ritman, J.; Rizzo, A.; Rosner, G.; Rowley, J.; Sabatié, F.; Salgado, C.; Schmidt, A.; Schumacher, R.  A.; Sharabian, Y.  G.; Shrestha, U.; Sokhan, D.; Soto, O.; Sparveris, N.; Stepanyan, S.; Strakovsky, I.  I.; Strauch, S.; Tyler, N.; Tyson, R.; Ungaro, M.; Venturelli, L.; Voskanyan, H.; Voutier, E.; Watts, D.  P.; Wei, K.; Wei, X.; Yale, B.; Zachariou, N.; Zhang, J.; Zhao, Z.  W.

The quark structure of the $$f_2(1270)$$ meson has, for many years, been assumed to be a pure quark-antiquark ($$q\bar{q}$$) resonance with quantum numbers $$J^{PC} = 2^{++}$$. Recently, it was proposed that the $$f_2(1270)$$ is a molecular state made from the attractive interaction of two $$\rho$$-mesons. Such a state would be expected to decay strongly to final states with charged pions, due to the dominant decay $$\rho \to \pi^+ \pi^-$$, whereas decay to two neutral pions would likely be suppressed. Here, we measure for the first time the reaction $$\gamma p \to \pi^0 \pi^0 p$$, using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab for incident beam energies between 3.6-5.4~GeV. Differential cross sections, $$d\sigma / dt$$, for $$f_2(1270)$$ photoproduction are extracted with good precision, due to low backgrounds, and are compared with theoretical calculations.

• Research Organization: Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
• Contributing Organization: CLAS Collaboration
• DOE Contract Number: ACT1413; AC05-06OR23177; PID2019–106080 GB-C21; 2018-T1/TIC-10313
• OSTI ID: 1775337
• Report Number(s): JLAB-PHY-20-3279; DOE/OR/-23177-5125; arXiv:2010.16006
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 126, Issue 8; ISSN 0031-9007
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS