The atomic nucleus is composed of two different kinds of fermions: protons and neutrons. If the protons and neutrons did not interact, the Pauli exclusion principle would force the majority of fermions (usually neutrons) to have a higher average momentum. Our high-energy electron-scattering measurements using (12)C, (27)Al, (56)Fe, and (208)Pb targets show that even in heavy, neutron-rich nuclei, short-range interactions between the fermions form correlated high-momentum neutron-proton pairs. Thus, in neutron-rich nuclei, protons have a greater probability than neutrons to have momentum greater than the Fermi momentum. This finding has implications ranging from nuclear few-body systems to neutron stars and may also be observable experimentally in two-spin-state, ultracold atomic gas systems.
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the microscopic theory of strong interactions, has not yet been applied to the calculation of nuclear wavefunctions. However, it certainly provokes a number of specific questions and suggests the existence of novel phenomena in nuclear physics which are not part of the traditional framework of the meson-nucleon description of nuclei. Many of these phenomena are related to high nuclear densities and the role of colour in nucleonic interactions. Quantum fluctuations in the spatial separation between nucleons may lead to local high-density configurations of cold nuclear matter in nuclei, up to four times larger than typical nuclear densities. We argue here that experiments utilizing the higher energies available upon completion of the Jefferson Laboratory energy upgrade will be able to probe the quarkgluon structure of such high-density configurations and therefore elucidate the fundamental nature of nuclear matter. We review three key experimental programmes: quasi-elastic electro-disintegration of light nuclei, deep inelastic scattering from nuclei at x > 1 and the measurement of tagged structure functions. These interrelated programmes are all aimed at the exploration of the quark structure of high-density nuclear configurations.The study of the QCD dynamics of elementary hard processes is another important research direction and nuclei provide a unique avenue to explore these dynamics. In particular, we argue that the use of nuclear targets and large values of momentum transfer at energies available with the Jefferson Laboratory upgrade would allow us to determine whether the physics of the
In an exclusive measurement of the reaction gammad-->K(+)K(-)pn, a narrow peak that can be attributed to an exotic baryon with strangeness S=+1 is seen in the K(+)n invariant mass spectrum. The peak is at 1.542+/-0.005 GeV/c(2) with a measured width of 0.021 GeV/c(2) FWHM, which is largely determined by experimental mass resolution. The statistical significance of the peak is (5.2+/-0.6)sigma. The mass and width of the observed peak are consistent with recent reports of a narrow S=+1 baryon by other experimental groups.
High-statistics differential cross sections for the reactions γp → pη and γp → pη have been measured using the CEBAF large acceptance spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass energies from near threshold up to 2.84 GeV. The η results are the most precise to date and provide the largest energy and angular coverage. The η measurements extend the energy range of the world's large-angle results by approximately 300 MeV. These new data, in particular the η measurements, are likely to help constrain the analyses being performed to search for new baryon resonance states.
The electric form factor of the neutron was determined from studies of the reaction 3 − → He( e, e n)pp in quasi-elastic kinematics in Hall A at Jefferson Lab. Longitudinally polarized electrons were scattered off a polarized target in which the nuclear polarization was oriented perpendicular to the momentum transfer. The scattered electrons were detected in a magnetic spectrometer in coincidence with neutrons that were registered in a large-solid-angle detector. More than doubling
1 tex file (6 pages), 4 (eps) figuresThe beam spin asymmetries in the hard exclusive electroproduction of photons on the proton (ep -> epg) were measured over a wide kinematic range and with high statistical accuracy. These asymmetries result from the interference of the Bethe-Heitler process and of deeply virtual Compton scattering. Over the whole kinematic range (x_B from 0.11 to 0.58, Q^2 from 1 to 4.8 GeV^2, -t from 0.09 to 1.8 GeV^2), the azimuthal dependence of the asymmetries is compatible with expectations from leading-twist dominance, A = a*sin(phi)/[1+c*cos(phi)]. This extensive set of data can thus be used to constrain significantly the generalized parton distributions of the nucleon in the valence quark sector
Photoproduction of the cascade resonances has been investigated in the reactions
The reaction γ + p → K + + Σ + π was used to determine the invariant mass distributions or "line shapes" of the Σ + π − , Σ − π + and Σ 0 π 0 final states, from threshold at 1328 MeV/c 2 through the mass range of the Λ(1405) and the Λ(1520). The measurements were made with the CLAS system at Jefferson Lab using tagged real photons, for center-of-mass energies 1.95 < W < 2.85 GeV. The three mass distributions differ strongly in the vicinity of the I = 0 Λ(1405), indicating the presence of substantial I = 1 strength in the reaction. Background contributions to the data from the Σ 0 (1385) and from K * Σ production were studied and shown to have negligible influence. To separate the isospin amplitudes, Breit-Wigner model fits were made that included channel-coupling distortions due to the NK threshold. A best fit to all the data was obtained after including a phenomenological I = 1, J P = 1/2 − amplitude with a centroid at 1394 ± 20 MeV/c 2 and a second I = 1 amplitude at 1413 ± 10 MeV/c 2 . The centroid of the I = 0 Λ(1405) strength was found at the Σπ threshold, with the observed shape determined largely by channel-coupling, leading to an apparent overall peak near 1405 MeV/c 2 .
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