Nuclearρmeson transparency in a relativistic Glauber model

Abstract

Background: The recent Jefferson Laboratory data for the nuclear transparency in ${\ensuremath{\rho}}^{0}$ electroproduction have the potential to settle the scale for the onset of color transparency (CT) in vector meson production.Purpose: To compare the data to calculations in a relativistic and quantum-mechanical Glauber model and to investigate whether they are in accordance with results including color transparency given that the computation of $\ensuremath{\rho}$-nucleus attenuations is subject to some uncertainties.Method: We compute the nuclear transparencies in a multiple-scattering Glauber model and account for effects stemming from color transparency, from $\ensuremath{\rho}$-meson decay, and from short-range correlations (SRC) in the final-state interactions (FSI).Results: The robustness of the model is tested by comparing the mass dependence and the hard-scale dependence of the $A(e,{e}^{\ensuremath{'}}p)$ nuclear transparencies with the data. The hard-scale dependence of the $(e,{e}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{0})$ nuclear transparencies for ${}^{12}$C and ${}^{56}$Fe are only moderately affected by SRC and by ${\ensuremath{\rho}}^{0}$ decay.Conclusions: The RMSGA calculations confirm the onset of CT at four-momentum transfers of a few (GeV/$c$)${}^{2}$ in $\ensuremath{\rho}$ meson electroproduction data. A more precise determination of the scale for the onset of CT is hampered by the lack of precise input in the FSI and $\ensuremath{\rho}$-meson decay calculations.