No Arabic abstract
We report on a measurement of Spin Density Matrix Elements (SDMEs) in hard exclusive $omega$ meson muoproduction on the proton at COMPASS using 160 GeV/$c$ polarised $ mu ^{+}$ and $ mu ^{-}$ beams impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. The measurement covers the range 5.0 GeV/$c^2$ $< W <$ 17.0 GeV/$c^2$, with the average kinematics $langle Q^{2} rangle=$ 2.1 (GeV/$c$)$^2$, $langle W rangle= 7.6$ GeV/$c^2$, and $langle p^{2}_{rm T} rangle = 0.16$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$. Here, $Q^2$ denotes the virtuality of the exchanged photon, $W$ the mass of the final hadronic system and $p_T$ the transverse momentum of the $omega$ meson with respect to the virtual-photon direction. The measured non-zero SDMEs for the transitions of transversely polarised virtual photons to longitudinally polarised vector mesons ($gamma^*_T to V_L$) indicate a violation of $s$-channel helicity conservation. Additionally, we observe a sizeable contribution of unnatural-parity-exchange (UPE) transitions that decreases with increasing $W$. The results provide important input for modelling Generalised Parton Distributions (GPDs). In particular, they may allow to evaluate in a model-dependent way the contribution of UPE transitions and assess the role of parton helicity-flip GPDs in exclusive $omega$ production.
Exclusive production of $omega$ mesons was studied at the COMPASS experiment by scattering $160~mathrm{GeV}/mathit{c}$ muons off transversely polarised protons. Five single-spin and three double-spin azimuthal asymmetries were measured in the range of photon virtuality $1~(mathrm{GeV}/mathit{c})^2 < Q^2 < 10~(mathrm{GeV}/mathit{c})^2$, Bjorken scaling variable $0.003 < x_{mathit{Bj}} < 0.3$ and transverse momentum squared of the $omega$ meson $0.05~(mathrm{GeV}/mathit{c})^2 < p_{T}^{2} < 0.5~(mathrm{GeV}/mathit{c})^2$. The measured asymmetries are sensitive to the nucleon helicity-flip Generalised Parton Distributions (GPD) $E$ that are related to the orbital angular momentum of quarks, the chiral-odd GPDs $H_{T}$ that are related to the transversity Parton Distribution Functions, and the sign of the $piomega$ transition form factor. The results are compared to recent calculations of a GPD-based model.
Hard exclusive electroproduction of $omega$ mesons is studied with the HERMES spectrometer at the DESY laboratory by scattering 27.6 GeV positron and electron beams off a transversely polarized hydrogen target. The amplitudes of five azimuthal modulations of the single-spin asymmetry of the cross section with respect to the transverse proton polarization are measured. They are determined in the entire kinematic region as well as for two bins in photon virtuality and momentum transfer to the nucleon. Also, a separation of asymmetry amplitudes into longitudinal and transverse components is done. These results are compared to a phenomenological model that includes the pion pole contribution. Within this model, the data favor a positive $piomega$ transition form factor.
Exclusive electroproduction of $omega$ mesons on unpolarized hydrogen and deuterium targets is studied in the kinematic region of Q$^2$>1.0 GeV$^2$, 3.0 GeV < W < 6.3 GeV, and -t< 0.2 GeV$^2$. Results on the angular distribution of the $omega$ meson, including its decay products, are presented. The data were accumulated with the HERMES forward spectrometer during the 1996-2007 running period using the 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron or positron beam of HERA. The determination of the virtual-photon longitudinal-to-transverse cross-section ratio reveals that a considerable part of the cross section arises from transversely polarized photons. Spin density matrix elements are presented in projections of Q$^2$ or -t. Violation of s-channel helicity conservation is observed for some of these elements. A sizable contribution from unnatural-parity-exchange amplitudes is found and the phase shift between those amplitudes that describe transverse $omega$ production by longitudinal and transverse virtual photons, $gamma^{*}_{L} to omega_{T}$ and $gamma^{*}_{T} to omega_{T}$, is determined for the first time. A hierarchy of helicity amplitudes is established, which mainly means that the unnatural-parity-exchange amplitude describing the $gamma^*_T to omega_T$ transition dominates over the two natural-parity-exchange amplitudes describing the $gamma^*_L to omega_L$ and $gamma^*_T to omega_T$ transitions, with the latter two being of similar magnitude. Good agreement is found between the HERMES proton data and results of a pQCD-inspired phenomenological model that includes pion-pole contributions, which are of unnatural parity.
Exclusive production of $rho^0$ mesons was studied at the COMPASS experiment by scattering 160 GeV/$c$ muons off transversely polarised protons. Five single-spin and three double-spin azimuthal asymmetries were measured as a function of $Q^2$, $x_{Bj}$, or $p_{T}^{2}$. The $sin phi_S$ asymmetry is found to be $-0.019 pm 0.008(stat.) pm 0.003(syst.)$. All other asymmetries are also found to be of small magnitude and consistent with zero within experimental uncertainties. Very recent calculations using a GPD-based model agree well with the present results. The data is interpreted as evidence for the existence of chiral-odd, transverse generalized parton distributions.
The spin density matrix of the $omega$ has been determined for the reaction $bar{p} p , rightarrow , omega pi^0$ with unpolarized in-flight data measured by the Crystal Barrel LEAR experiment at CERN. The two main decay modes of the $omega$ into $pi^0 gamma $ and $pi^+ pi^- pi^0$ have been separately analyzed for various $bar{p}$ momenta between 600 and 1940 MeV/c. The results obtained with the usual method by extracting the matrix elements via the $omega$ decay angular distributions and with the more sophisticated method via a full partial wave analysis are in good agreement. A strong spin alignment of the $omega$ is clearly visible in this energy regime and all individual spin density matrix elements exhibit an oscillatory dependence on the production angle. In addition, the largest contributing orbital angular momentum of the $bar{p}p$ system has been identified for the different beam momenta. It increases from $L^{max}_{bar{p}p}$ = 2 at 600 MeV/c to $L^{max}_{bar{p}p}$ = 5 at 1940 MeV/c.