Measurement of the generalized form factors near threshold via $gamma^* p to npi^+$ at high $Q^2$

We report the first extraction of the pion-nucleon multipoles near the production threshold for the $npi^+$ channel at relatively high momentum transfer ($Q^2$ up to 4.2 $rm{GeV^2}$). The dominance of the s-wave transverse multipole ($E_{0+}$), expected in this region, allowed us to access the generalized form factor $G_1$ within the light-cone sum rule (LCSR) framework as well as the axial form factor $G_A$. The data analyzed in this work were collected by the nearly $4pi$ CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) using a 5.754 $rm{GeV}$ electron beam on a proton target. The differential cross section and the $pi-N$-multipole $E_{0+}/G_D$ were measured using two different methods, the LCSR and a direct multipole fit. The results from the two methods are found to be consistent and almost $Q^2$ independent.