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Degree

PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Physics, 2009.

Abstract

The gamma + n → neutral Kaon + Lambda reaction on a liquid deuterium target was measured in the A2 Hall of the MAMI-C electron accelerator facility at the Institut fur Kernphysik in Mainz, Germany. An incident electron beam of energy 1.5 GeV was directed onto a 10-micro m copper radiator to produce a bremsstrahlung photon beam that was tagged using the Glasgow Photon Tagger. The final-state Kaon short neutral and a Lambda were identified by their decays Kaon short neutral to two neutral pions and Lambda to neutral pion and a neutron, respectively. The three final-state neutral pions were reconstructed by detecting and analyzing the six photons resulting from their decays using the Crystal Ball multiphoton spectrometer and the TAPS detector as a forward wall. This combined detector system covered nearly 4pi in solid angle. Kinematic fitting was applied to reconstruct the gamma + n → neutral Kaon + Lambda → six photons + neutron events. The primary background reactions, gamma + p → neutral Kaon + Sigma+, gamma + n → neutral Kaon + Sigma0, gamma + Nucleon → eta + Nucleon, gamma + Nuclean → 3 neutral pions + Nucleon, were identified simultaneously using the 6-photon events. In order to determine the acceptance and to estimate the background reactions, a detailed Monte Carlo simulation was performed. Experimental cross sections for gamma + n → neutral Kaon + Lambda and gamma + p → neutral Kaon + Sigma+ were obtained in the energy range 9.15 to 1.4 GeV. Results for gamma + n → neutral Kaon + Lambda were compared with theoretical predictions from two isobar models. Our results are the first experimental measurements of the differential and total cross section for gamma + n → neutral Kaon + Lambda. Our measurements for gamma + p → neutral Kaon + Sigma+ are in good agreement with prior measurements but have better statistical precision.

Subject Headings

Physics

Keywords

Photoproduction; Neutral Kaon; Crystal Ball; Lambda Photoproduction

Committee / Advisors

D. Mark Manley, PhD (Committee Chair)
Spiros Margetis, PhD (Committee Member)
Elizabeth Mann, PhD (Committee Member)
Alexander Seed, PhD (Committee Member)
Michael Tubergen, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

164p.

Document number: kent1256223643
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1256223643

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