Speaker
Description
The photoproduction of vector mesons off the proton serves as a crucial probe of the gluon content within the nucleon. Near-threshold J/psi photoproduction provides a unique opportunity to investigate the Gravitational Form Factors of gluons, which are related to the mass, pressure, and force distributions within the proton. Furthermore, this reaction allows for the exploration of exotic hadronic states, such as pentaquark candidates, through their potential contributions to the J/psi -nucleon interaction.
Results from near-threshold J/psi photoproduction data collected in 2018 and 2019 with the CLAS12 detector at Jefferson Lab are presented. The measurement was performed using a high-energy electron beam impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. This analysis incorporates advanced lepton identification techniques, utilizing machine learning methods to reduce pion contamination, and applies targeted event selection criteria to isolate the J/psi signal.
