Studying Short-Range Correlations with Real Photon Beams at GlueX

TL;DR

This paper proposes a 30-day experiment using real photon beams at GlueX to study short-range nucleon correlations, aiming to test reaction mechanisms and gain insights into nuclear interactions and nucleon structure.

Contribution

It introduces a novel photon-induced experimental approach to study SRC pairs, complementing electron scattering methods and testing key nuclear physics hypotheses.

Findings

Projected sensitivity exceeds previous SRC experiments

Decisively tests np dominance and short-distance NN interactions

Provides new insights into bound nucleon structure and color transparency

Abstract

The past few years has seen tremendous progress in our understanding of short-range correlated (SRC) pairing of nucleons within nuclei, much of it coming from electron scattering experiments leading to the break-up of an SRC pair. The interpretation of these experiments rests on assumptions about the mechanism of the reaction. These assumptions can be directly tested by studying SRC pairs using alternate probes, such as real photons. We propose a 30-day experiment using the Hall D photon beam, nuclear targets, and the GlueX detector in its standard configuration to study short-range correlations with photon-induced reactions. Several different reaction channels are possible, and we project sensitivity in most channels to equal or exceed the 6 GeV-era SRC experiments from Halls A and B. The proposed experiment will therefore decisively test the phenomena of np dominance, the short-distance NN interaction, and reaction theory, while also providing new insight into bound nucleon structure and the onset of color transparency.