No Arabic abstract
The first study of quasi-free Compton scattering on the neutron in the energy range of $E_{gamma}=0.75 - 1.5$ GeV is presented. The data reveals a narrow peak at $Wsim 1.685$ GeV. This result, being considered in conjunction with the recent evidence for a narrow structure at $Wsim 1.68$GeV in the $eta$ photoproduction on the neutron, suggests the existence of a new nucleon resonance with unusual properties: the mass $Msim 1.685$GeV, the narrow width $Gamma leq 30$MeV, and the much stronger photoexcitation on the neutron than on the proton.
Revised analysis of $Sigma$ beam asymmetry for $eta$ photoproduction on the free proton reveals a resonant structure at $Wsim 1.69$ GeV. Comparison of experimental data with multipole decomposition based on the E429 solution of the SAID partial wave analysis and including narrow states, suggests a narrow ($Gamma leq 15$ MeV) resonance. Possible candidates are $P_{11}$, $P_{13}$, or $D_{13}$ resonances. The result is considered in conjunction with the recent evidence for a bump-like structure at $Wsim 1.67 - 1.68$ GeV in quasi-free $eta$ photoproduction on the neutron.
Observation of a narrow structure at $Wsim 1.68$ GeV in the excitation functions of some photon- and pion-induced reactions may signal a new narrow isospin-1/2 $N(1685)$ resonance. New data on the $gamma N to pi eta N$ reactions from GRAAL seems to reveal the signals of both $N^+(1685)$ and $N^0(1685)$ resonances.
The three-dimensional structure of nucleons (protons and neutrons) is embedded in so-called generalized parton distributions, which are accessible from deeply virtual Compton scattering. In this process, a high energy electron is scattered off a nucleon by exchanging a virtual photon. Then, a highly-energetic real photon is emitted from one of the quarks inside the nucleon, which carries information on the quarks transverse position and longitudinal momentum. By measuring the cross-section of deeply virtual Compton scattering, Compton form factors related to the generalized parton distributions can be extracted. Here, we report the observation of unpolarized deeply virtual Compton scattering off a deuterium target. From the measured photon-electroproduction cross-sections, we have extracted the cross-section of a quasi-free neutron and a coherent deuteron. Due to the approximate isospin symmetry of quantum chromodynamics, we can determine the contributions from the different quark flavours to the helicity-conserved Compton form factors by combining our measurements with previous ones probing the protons internal structure. These results advance our understanding of the description of the nucleon structure, which is important to solve the proton spin puzzle.
The proton is composed of quarks and gluons, bound by the most elusive mechanism of strong interaction called confinement. In this work, the dynamics of quarks and gluons are investigated using deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS): produced by a multi-GeV electron, a highly virtual photon scatters off the proton which subsequently radiates a high energy photon. Similarly to holography, measuring not only the magnitude but also the phase of the DVCS amplitude allows to perform 3D images of the internal structure of the proton. The phase is made accessible through the quantum-mechanical interference of DVCS with the Bethe-Heitler (BH) process, in which the final photon is emitted by the electron rather than the proton. We report herein the first full determination of the BH-DVCS interference by exploiting the distinct energy dependences of the DVCS and BH amplitudes. In the high energy regime where the scattering process is expected to occur off a single quark in the proton, these accurate measurements show an intriguing sensitivity to gluons, the carriers of the strong interaction.
The gamma n -> K+ K- n reaction on 12C has been studied by measuring both K+ and K- at forward angles. A sharp baryon resonance peak was observed at 1.54 +- 0.01 GeV with a width smaller than 25 MeV and a Gaussian significance of 4.6 sigma. The strangeness quantum number (S) of the baryon resonance is +1. It can be interpreted as a molecular meson-baryon resonance or alternatively as an exotic 5-quark state (uudd{s_bar}) that decays into a K+ and a neutron. The resonance is consistent with the lowest member of an anti-decuplet of baryons predicted by the chiral soliton model.