A Collaborative Effort between the United States and Colombia on the Research with Linearly-Polarized Photons

Idaho State University, Pocatello ID

Investigators

Abstract

0101815 Cole This Americas award will support a collaborative effort between Dr. Philip L. Cole, University of Texas at El Paso, Dr. Franz J. Klein, Florida International University, and Dr. Juan Carlos Sanabria, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, with the purpose of completing a series of experiments, which will make use of the unique probe of a beam of linearly-polarized photons. These experiments will measure the polarization observable for reactions involving meson photoproduction. The objective is to improve the understanding of the underlying symmetry of the quark degrees of freedom in the nucleon; the nature of the parity exchange between the incident photon and the target nucleon, and the mechanism of associated strangeness production in electromagnetic reactions. The first phase of the experiments, investigation of the nature of the underlying structure of protons and neutrons, will be performed at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Newport, Virginia, where powerful computers will allow for the rapid acquisition and thorough analysis of the data. This will enable the researchers to measure high-multiplicity events over most of the phase space at high rates with an unprecedented high quality beam of continuous-wave electrons. The collaboration will make possible the search of previously unmeasurable baryon resonances and will shed considerable light on the internal symmetries and dynamics of an assembly of three quarks, further aiding in understanding the nature of the strong force. **** .