First Results from The GlueX Experiment

TL;DR

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab successfully commissioned its detector systems, collected initial data on meson production using polarized photons, and demonstrated the detector's performance aligning with design specifications.

Contribution

First experimental results from GlueX demonstrating detector performance, meson production, and polarization transfer with polarized photon beams.

Findings

Detector systems perform at or near design specifications

Successful production of linearly-polarized photons

Observation of polarization transfer to the rho meson

Abstract

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab ran with its first commissioning beam in late 2014 and the spring of 2015. Data were collected on both plastic and liquid hydrogen targets, and much of the detector has been commissioned. All of the detector systems are now performing at or near design specifications and events are being fully reconstructed, including exclusive production of $\pi^{0}$, $\eta$ and $\omega$ mesons. Linearly-polarized photons were successfully produced through coherent bremsstrahlung and polarization transfer to the $\rho$ has been observed.