Single $$\pi ^0$$ production off neutrons bound in deuteron with linearly polarized photons

The quasifree $$\overrightarrow{\gamma } d\rightarrow \pi ^0n(p)$$ γ → d → π 0 n ( p ) photon beam asymmetry, $$\varSigma $$ Σ , has been measured at photon energies, $$E_\gamma $$ E γ , from 390 to 610 MeV, corresponding to center of mass energy from 1.271 to 1.424 GeV, for the first time. The data were collected in the A2 hall of the MAMI electron beam facility with the Crystal Ball and TAPS calorimeters covering pion center-of-mass angles from 49$$^\circ $$ ∘ to 148$$^\circ $$ ∘ . In this kinematic region, polarization observables are sensitive to contributions from the $$\varDelta (1232)$$ Δ ( 1232 ) and N(1440) resonances. The extracted values of $$\varSigma $$ Σ have been compared to predictions based on partial-wave analyses (PWAs) of the existing pion photoproduction database. Our comparison includes the SAID, MAID and Bonn–Gatchina analyses; while a revised SAID fit, including the new $$\varSigma $$ Σ measurements, has also been performed. In addition, isospin symmetry is examined as a way to predict $$\pi ^0n$$ π 0 n photoproduction observables, based on fits to published data in the channels $$\pi ^0p$$ π 0 p , $$\pi ^+n$$ π + n and $$\pi ^-p$$ π - p .

Photoproduction of the Λ(1520) hyperon with a 9 GeV photon beam at GlueX

The GlueX experiment is located at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) in Newport News, VA, USA. It features a hermetic 4π detector with excellent tracking and calorimetry capabilities. Its 9 GeV linearly polarized photon beam is produced from the 12 GeV electron beam, delivered by JLab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), via bremsstrahlung on a thin diamond and is incident on a LH2 target. GlueX recently finished its first data taking period and published first results. The main goal of GlueX is to measure gluonic excitations of mesons. These so-called hybrid or exotic mesons are predicted by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) but haven’t been experimentally confirmed yet. They can have quantum numbers not accessible by ordinary quark-antiquark pairs which helps in identifying them using partial wave analysis techniques. The search for exotic mesons requires a very good understanding of photoproduction processes in a wide range of final states, one of them being pK + K − which contains many meson and baryon reactions. The Λ(1520) is a prominent hyperon resonance in this final state and is the subject of this presentation. This talk will give an introduction to the GlueX experiment and show preliminary results for the photoproduction of the Λ(1520) hyperon. The measurement of important observables like the photon beam asymmetry and spin-density matrix elements will be discussed and an outlook to possible measurements of further hyperon states in the pK + K − final state will be given.

Beam Asymmetries from Light Scalar Meson Production on the Proton at GlueX

The GlueX facility, featuring a linearly polarised 9 GeV real photon beam delivered to a large-acceptance detector system, has recently completed its first phase of running, and analysis efforts of this dataset are well underway. It has been suggested that at GlueX energies, quark systems beyond the three quark and quark-antiquark systems of baryons and mesons, such as hybrid mesons, tetraquarks and glueballs, should exist, and studies of these systems could shed new light on how quarks combine under the strong force, particularly the role played by gluons. Meticulous study of the spectrum of hadronic states is required to understand the strong force in the non-perturbative energy regime, and the light scalar meson sector is an area that remains poorly understood. GlueX data encompasses final states at energies where photoproduction of the a0 (980) and f 0 (980) mesons can provide discriminatory evidence between various models, manifested in experimental observables such as the cross section and beam asymmetry, and performing detailed measurements of these quantities is considered a priority of the ongoing research program. The work presented showcases efforts to measure the beam asymmetry of the reaction γp→pηπ whose mass spectrum encompasses several mesons, including the a 0(980) light scalar, and the a 2(1320) tensor. Future prospects for related analyses in the light scalar meson sector, informed by this measurement, will also be discussed.

Topological charge of optical vortices devoid of radial symmetry

Here we theoretically obtain values of the topological charge (TC) for vortex laser beams devoid of radial symmetry: asymmetric Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams, Bessel-Gaussian (BG) beams, Kummer beams, and vortex Hermite-Gaussian (HG) beams. All these beams consist of conventional modes, namely, LG, BG, or HG modes, respectively. However, all these modes have the same TC equal to that of a single constituent mode n. Orbital angular momenta (OAM) of all these beams, normalized to the beam power, are different and changing differently with varying beam asymmetry. However, for arbitrary beam asymmetry, TC remains unchanged and equals n. Superposition of just two HG modes with the adjacent numbers (n, n+1) and with the phase retardation of (pi)/2 yields a modal beam with the TC equal to – (2n+1). Numerical simulation confirms the theoretical predictions.

η’ beam asymmetry at threshold using the BGO-OD experiment

The unexpected nodal structure of the beam asymmetry recently reported by the GRAAL collaboration in η′ photoproduction very close to threshold could be explained by a previously unobserved narrow resonance. The BGO-OD experiment is ideally suited to verify this measurement via the detection of forward going charged particles which in the threshold region of interest allows the identification of the reaction γp → η′ p solely based on the proton going in the forward direction. This yields unprecedented statistics if, in the missing mass analysis of the η′ meson, the background can be sufficiently well controlled. Preliminary results using a linearly polarised photon beam are shown. The reaction γp → η′ p was identified in the BGO forward spectrometer, with simulated data used to seperate signal and background.