Longitudinal target-spin azimuthal asymmetry in deeply-virtual Compton scattering

Abstract

As a generalization of the usual Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs), introduced a decade ago, contain additional information about quark and gluon distributions in the plane transverse to the direction of motion of the nucleon. Strong interest in GPDs was triggered by the work of X. Ji who demonstrated that in the forward limit GPDs can give information about the total angular momentum carried by quarks (gluons) in the nucleon. The hard exclusive electroproduction of a real photon, called Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS), appears to be the theoretically cleanest way to access GPDs experimentally. This process has a final state identical to that of the Bethe-Heitler (BH) process where the photon is radiated from either incoming or outgoing lepton. Both processes are experimentally indistinguishable as their amplitudes interfere. The interference term involves linearly the amplitudes of the DVCS process giving access to GPDs. In this thesis results from HERMES are reported on an azimuthal asymmetry with respect to the spin of the proton target, which is attributed to the interference between the Bethe-Heitler process and the DVCS process. The asymmetry, also referred to as the longitudinal target-spin asymmetry (LTSA), gives access mainly to the polarized GPD fH. The kinematic dependences of the LTSA on t, xB and Q2 are measured and compared with the corresponding measurements on the deuteron. The results are compared with theoretical calculations and with the recent CLAS measurements. The data, used for analysis in this thesis, have been accumulated by the HERMES experiment at DESY scattering the HERA 27.6 GeV positron beam off hydrogen and deuterium gas targets. Additionally, production tests of the HELIX128 3.0 chip are discussed. The chip is the frontend readout chip of the silicon recoil detector. The latter is a part of the HERMES recoil detector, which is built around the target area in order to detect the recoiling products of exclusive processes. The primary goal of this detector is to facilitate a more complete study of DVCS by registering also the recoiling protons.