Color transparency in hadronic attenuation of rho0 mesons

TL;DR

This paper uses a transport model to predict how rho0 mesons are attenuated in nuclei and explores color transparency effects in exclusive electroproduction experiments at JLAB, emphasizing the importance of detailed analysis for observing early CT signals.

Contribution

It provides detailed transport model predictions for rho0 attenuation and color transparency effects, incorporating experimental acceptance and kinematic cuts at JLAB energies.

Findings

Transport model predicts rho0 attenuation in nuclei.

Color transparency effects are observable with detailed analysis.

Early onset of rho0-CT can be revealed at JLAB energies.

Abstract

Ongoing experiments at JLAB investigate the nuclear transparency in exclusive rho0(770) electroproduction off nuclei. In this work we present transport model predictions for the attenuation of rho0s in nuclei and for color transparency (CT) effects as observable at CLAS with a 5 GeV electron beam energy. A full event simulation presented here permits to study the impact of actual experimental acceptance conditions and kinematical cuts. The exclusive (e,e'rho0) cross section off nucleons is described by diffractive and color string breaking mechanisms extended toward the onset of the deep inelastic regime. Different hadronization and CT scenarios are compared. We show that a detailed analysis of elementary cross section, nuclear effects and experimental cuts is needed to reveal the early onset of rho0-CT at present JLAB energies.