A precision measurement of the $p$($e,e^prime p,$)$pi^0$ reaction at threshold

New results are reported from a measurement of $pi^0$ electroproduction near threshold using the $p(e,e^{prime} p)pi^0$ reaction. The experiment was designed to determine precisely the energy dependence of $s-$ and $p-$wave electromagnetic multipoles as a stringent test of the predictions of Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT). The data were taken with an electron beam energy of 1192 MeV using a two-spectrometer setup in Hall A at Jefferson Lab. For the first time, complete coverage of the $phi^*_{pi}$ and $theta^*_{pi}$ angles in the $p pi^0$ center-of-mass was obtained for invariant energies above threshold from 0.5 MeV up to 15 MeV. The 4-momentum transfer $Q^2$ coverage ranges from 0.05 to 0.155 (GeV/c)$^2$ in fine steps. A simple phenomenological analysis of our data shows strong disagreement with $p-$wave predictions from ChPT for $Q^2>0.07$ (GeV/c)$^2$, while the $s-$wave predictions are in reasonable agreement.