Delta baryon photoproduction with twisted photons

TL;DR

This paper explores the use of twisted photons with structured wave fronts in gamma-ray sources to study the photoproduction of Delta(1232) baryons, revealing new measurement techniques for specific polarization amplitudes.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of using twisted photons for baryon photoproduction and demonstrates how polarization amplitudes can isolate smaller partial waves.

Findings

Polarization amplitudes can isolate smaller partial wave contributions.

Measurement of these amplitudes is feasible without interference from dominant terms.

Twisted photons offer a new tool for hadronic physics experiments.

Abstract

A future gamma factory at CERN or accelerator-based gamma sources elsewhere can include the possibility of energetic twisted photons, which are photons with a structured wave front that can allow a pre-defined large angular momentum along the beam direction. Twisted photons are potentially a new tool in hadronic physics, and we consider here one possibility, namely the photoproduction of $\Delta$(1232) baryons using twisted photons. We show that particular polarization amplitudes isolate the smaller partial wave amplitudes and they are measurable without interference from the terms that are otherwise dominant.