The $f_1(1285)$ meson with mass $1281.0 \pm 0.8$ MeV/$c^2$ and width $18.4 \pm 1.4$ MeV (FWHM) was measured for the first time in photoproduction from a proton target using CLAS at Jefferson Lab. Differential cross sections were obtained via the $\eta\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$, $K^+\bar{K}^0\pi^-$, and $K^-K^0\pi^+$ decay channels from threshold up to a center-of-mass energy of 2.8 GeV. The mass, width, and an amplitude analysis of the $\eta\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ final-state Dalitz distribution are consistent with the axial-vector $J^P=1^+$ $f_1(1285)$ identity, rather than the pseudoscalar $0^-$ $\eta(1295)$. The production mechanism is more consistent with $s$-channel decay of a high-mass $N^*$ state, and not with $t$-channel meson exchange. Decays to $\eta\pi\pi$ go dominantly via the intermediate $a_0^\pm(980)\pi^\mp$ states, with the branching ratio $\Gamma(a_0\pi \text{ (no} \bar{K} K\text{)}) / \Gamma(\eta\pi\pi \text{(all)}) = 0.74\pm0.09$. The branching ratios $\Gamma(K \bar{K} \pi)/\Gamma(\eta\pi\pi) = 0.216\pm0.033$ and $\Gamma(\gamma\rho^0)/\Gamma(\eta\pi\pi) = 0.047\pm0.018$ were also obtained. The first is in agreement with previous data for the $f_1(1285)$, while the latter is lower than the world average.

We report on the measurement of inclusive electron scattering off a carbon target performed with CLAS at Jefferson Laboratory. A combination of three different beam energies 1.161, 2.261 and 4.461 GeV allowed us to reach an invariant mass of the final-state hadronic system W~2.4 GeV with four-momentum transfers Q2 ranging from 0.2 to 5 GeV2. These data, together with previous measurements of the inclusive electron scattering off proton and deuteron, which cover a similar continuous two-dimensional region of Q2 and Bjorken variable x, permit the study of nuclear modifications of the nucleon structure. By using these, as well as other world data, we evaluated the F2 structure function and its moments. Using an OPE-based twist expansion, we studied the Q2-evolution of the moments, obtaining a separation of the leading-twist and the total higher-twist terms. The carbon-to-deuteron ratio of the leading-twist contributions to the F2 moments exhibits the well known EMC effect, compatible with that discovered previously in x-space. The total higher-twist term in the carbon nucleus appears, although with large systematic uncertainites, to be smaller with respect to the deuteron case for n<7, suggesting partial parton deconfinement in nuclear matter. We speculate that the spatial extension of the nucleon is changed when it is immersed in the nuclear medium.

We present measurements of the differential cross section and Lambda recoil polarization for the gamma p to K+ Lambda reaction made using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. These measurements cover the center-of-mass energy range from 1.62 to 2.84 GeV and a wide range of center-of-mass K+ production angles. Independent analyses were performed using the K+ p pi- and K+ p (missing pi -) final-state topologies/ results from these analyses were found to exhibit good agreement. These differential cross section measurements show excellent agreement with previous CLAS and LEPS results and offer increased precision and a 300 MeV increase in energy coverage. The recoil polarization data agree well with previous results and offer a large increase in precision and a 500 MeV extension in energy range. The increased center-of-mass energy range that these data represent will allow for independent study of non-resonant K+ Lambda photoproduction mechanisms at all production angles.

High-statistics differential cross sections for the reactions gamma p -> p eta and gamma p -> p eta-prime have been measured using the CLAS at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass energies from near threshold up to 2.84 GeV. The eta-prime results are the most precise to date and provide the largest energy and angular coverage. The eta measurements extend the energy range of the world's large-angle results by approximately 300 MeV. These new data, in particular the eta-prime measurements, are likely to help constrain the analyses being performed to search for new baryon resonance states.

High-statistics differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction $\gamma p \to p \omega$ have been measured using the CLAS at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass (CM) energies from threshold up to 2.84 GeV. Results are reported in 112 10-MeV wide CM energy bins, each subdivided into $\cos{\theta_{CM}^{\omega}}$ bins of width 0.1. These are the most precise and extensive $\omega$ photoproduction measurements to date. A number of prominent structures are clearly present in the data. Many of these have not previously been observed due to limited statistics in earlier measurements.

The exclusive reaction $\gamma p \to p \pi^+ \pi^-$ was studied in the photon energy range 3.0 - 3.8 GeV and momentum transfer range $0.4<-t<1.0$ GeV$^2$. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. In this kinematic range the integrated luminosity was about 20 pb$^{-1}$. The reaction was isolated by detecting the $\pi^+$ and proton in CLAS, and reconstructing the $\pi^-$ via the missing-mass technique. Moments of the di-pion decay angular distributions were derived from the experimental data. Differential cross sections for the $S$, $P$, and $D$-waves in the $M_{\pi^+\pi^-}$ mass range $0.4-1.4$ GeV were derived performing a partial wave expansion of the extracted moments. Besides the dominant contribution of the $\rho(770)$ meson in the $P$-wave, evidence for the $f_0(980)$ and the $f_2(1270)$ mesons was found in the $S$ and $D$-waves, respectively. The differential production cross sections $d\sigma/dt$ for individual waves in the mass range of the above-mentioned mesons were extracted. This is the first time the $f_0(980)$ has been measured in a photoproduction experiment.

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.

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.

The polarized longitudinal-transverse structure function $\sigma_{LT^\prime}$ measures the interference between real and imaginary amplitudes in pion electroproduction and can be used to probe the coupling between resonant and non-resonant processes. We report new measurements of $\sigma_{LT^\prime}$ in the $N(1440){1/2}^+$ (Roper) resonance region at $Q^2=0.40$ and 0.65 GeV$^2$ for both the $\pi^0 p$ and $\pi^+ n$ channels. The experiment was performed at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) using longitudinally polarized electrons at a beam energy of 1.515 GeV. Complete angular distributions were obtained and are compared to recent phenomenological models. The $\sigma_{LT^\prime}(\pi^+ n)$ channel shows a large sensitivity to the Roper resonance multipoles $M_{1-}$ and $S_{1-}$ and provides new constraints on models of resonance formation.