We report results for the virtual photon asymmetry $A_1$ on the nucleon from new Jefferson Lab measurements. The experiment, which used the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer and longitudinally polarized proton ($^{15}$NH$_3$) and deuteron ($^{15}$ND$_3$) targets, collected data with a longitudinally polarized electron beam at energies between 1.6 GeV and 5.7 GeV. In the present paper, we concentrate on our results for $A_1(x,Q^2)$ and the related ratio $g_1/F_1(x,Q^2)$ in the resonance and the deep inelastic regions for our lowest and highest beam energies, covering a range in momentum transfer $Q^2$ from 0.05 to 5.0 GeV$^2$ and in final-state invariant mass $W$ up to about 3 GeV. Our data show detailed structure in the resonance region, which leads to a strong $Q^2$--dependence of $A_1(x,Q^2)$ for $W$ below 2 GeV. At higher $W$, a smooth approach to the scaling limit, established by earlier experiments, can be seen, but $A_1(x,Q^2)$ is not strictly $Q^2$--independent. We add significantly to the world data set at high $x$, up to $x = 0.6$. Our data exceed the SU(6)-symmetric quark model expectation for both the proton and the deuteron while being consistent with a negative $d$-quark polarization up to our highest $x$. This data setshould improve next-to-leading order (NLO) pQCD fits of the parton polarization distributions.

Using data onvp and\(\bar vp\) charged current interactions from a bubble chamber experiment with BEBC at CERN, the average multiplicities of charged hadrons and pions are determined as functions ofW2 andQ2. The analysis is based on ∼20000 events with incidentv and ∼10000 events with incident\(\bar v\). In addition to the known dependence of the average multiplicity onW2 a weak dependence onQ2 for fixed intervals ofW is observed. ForW>2 GeV andQ2>0.1 GeV2 the average multiplicity of charged hadrons is well described by〈n〉=a1+a2ln(W2/GeV2)+a3ln(Q2/GeV2) witha1=0.465±0.053,a2=1.211±0.021,a3=0.103±0.014 for thevp anda1=−0.372±0.073,a2=1.245±0.028,a3=0.093±0.015 for the\(\bar vp\) reaction.

The ep -> e'pi^+n reaction was studied in the first and second nucleon resonance regions in the 0.25 GeV^2 < Q^2 < 0.65 GeV^2 range using the CLAS detector at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. For the first time the absolute cross sections were measured covering nearly the full angular range in the hadronic center-of-mass frame. The structure functions sigma_TL, sigma_TT and the linear combination sigma_T+epsilon*sigma_L were extracted by fitting the phi-dependence of the measured cross sections, and were compared to the MAID and Sato-Lee models.

We report measurements of the exclusive electroproduction of $K^+\Lambda$ and $K^+\Sigma^0$ final states from a proton target using the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The separated structure functions $\sigma_T$, $\sigma_L$, $\sigma_{TT}$, and $\sigma_{LT}$ were extracted from the $\Phi$- and $\epsilon$-dependent differential cross sections taken with electron beam energies of 2.567, 4.056, and 4.247 GeV. This analysis represents the first $\sigma_L/\sigma_T$ separation with the CLAS detector, and the first measurement of the kaon electroproduction structure functions away from parallel kinematics. The data span a broad range of momentum transfers from $0.5\leq Q^2\leq 2.8$ GeV$^2$ and invariant energy from $1.6\leq W\leq 2.4$ GeV, while spanning nearly the full center-of-mass angular range of the kaon. The separated structure functions reveal clear differences between the production dynamics for the $\Lambda$ and $\Sigma^0$ hyperons. These results provide an unprecedented data sample with which to constrain current and future models for the associated production of strangeness, which will allow for a better understanding of the underlying resonant and non-resonant contributions to hyperon production.

The exclusive omega electroproduction off the proton was studied in a large kinematical domain above the nucleon resonance region and for the highest possible photon virtuality (Q2) with the 5.75 GeV beam at CEBAF and the CLAS spectrometer. Cross sections were measured up to large values of the four-momentum transfer (-t < 2.7 GeV2) to the proton. The contributions of the interference terms sigma_TT and sigma_TL to the cross sections, as well as an analysis of the omega spin density matrix, indicate that helicity is not conserved in this process. The t-channel pi0 exchange, or more generally the exchange of the associated Regge trajectory, seems to dominate the reaction gamma* p -> omega p, even for Q2 as large as 5 GeV2. Contributions of handbag diagrams, related to Generalized Parton Distributions in the nucleon, are therefore difficult to extract for this process. Remarkably, the high-t behaviour of the cross sections is nearly Q2-independent, which may be interpreted as a coupling of the photon to a point-like object in this kinematical limit.

Spin transfer from circularly polarized real photons to recoiling hyperons has been measured for the reactions $\vec\gamma + p \to K^+ + \vec\Lambda$ and $\vec\gamma + p \to K^+ + \vec\Sigma^0$. The data were obtained using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass energies $W$ between 1.6 and 2.53 GeV, and for $-0.85<\cos\theta_{K^+}^{c.m.}< +0.95$. For the $\Lambda$, the polarization transfer coefficient along the photon momentum axis, $C_z$, was found to be near unity for a wide range of energy and kaon production angles. The associated transverse polarization coefficient, $C_x$, is smaller than $C_z$ by a roughly constant difference of unity. Most significantly, the {\it total} $\Lambda$ polarization vector, including the induced polarization $P$, has magnitude consistent with unity at all measured energies and production angles when the beam is fully polarized. For the $\Sigma^0$ this simple phenomenology does not hold. All existing hadrodynamic models are in poor agreement with these results.

We measured the inclusive electron-proton cross section in the nucleon resonance region (W < 2.5 GeV) at momentum transfers Q**2 below 4.5 (GeV/c)**2 with the CLAS detector. The large acceptance of CLAS allowed for the first time the measurement of the cross section in a large, contiguous two-dimensional range of Q**2 and x, making it possible to perform an integration of the data at fixed Q**2 over the whole significant x-interval. From these data we extracted the structure function F2 and, by including other world data, we studied the Q**2 evolution of its moments, Mn(Q**2), in order to estimate higher twist contributions. The small statistical and systematic uncertainties of the CLAS data allow a precise extraction of the higher twists and demand significant improvements in theoretical predictions for a meaningful comparison with new experimental results.

The cross section for the reaction $ e p \to e^{\prime} p \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ was measured in the resonance region for 1.4$<$W$<$2.1 GeV and 0.5$<Q^{2}<$1.5 GeV$^{2}$/c$^{2}$ using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Laboratory. The data shows resonant structures not visible in previous experiments. The comparison of our data to a phenomenological prediction using available information on $N^{*}$ and $\Delta$ states shows an evident discrepancy. A better description of the data is obtained either by a sizeable change of the properties of the $P_{13}$(1720) resonance or by introducing a new baryon state, not reported in published analyses.

Differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to p \pi^0$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.675 to 2.875 GeV. The results reported here possess greater accuracy in the absolute normalization than previous measurements. They disagree with recent CB-ELSA measurements for the process at forward scattering angles. Agreement with the SAID and MAID fits is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been extended to 3 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations.

The differential cross-section for the process p(e,e'p)eta has been measured at Q2 ~ 5.7 and 7.0 (GeV/c)2 for centre-of-mass energies from threshold to 1.8 GeV, encompassing the S11(1535) resonance, which dominates the channel. This is the highest momentum transfer measurement of this exclusive process to date. The helicity-conserving transition amplitude A_1/2, for the production of the S11(1535) resonance, is extracted from the data. This quantity appears to begin scaling as 1/Q3, a predicted signal of the dominance of perturbative QCD, at Q2 ~ 5 (GeV/c)2.