Speaker
Description
Cascade hyperons, despite being discovered over half a century ago, remain considerably less studied compared to the non-strange $\Delta$ and $N$ baryons. This disparity is primarily due to the energetic challenges associated with producing two strange quarks. The objective of this analysis is to provide the first cross-section measurements for the ground state cascade, $\Xi^-$, using electron beam energies of $6.5$ and $7.5$ GeV. These measurements span both the quasi-real photoproduction regime ($Q^2 \leq 0.5$ GeV$^2$) and the purely electroproduction regime ($Q^2 > 0.5$ GeV$^2$), while also shedding light on the still-unclear production mechanisms of cascade. The data for this study were collected using Jefferson Lab's CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer at $12$ GeV (CLAS12). Preliminary results from the exclusive electroproduction reaction $ep \rightarrow e'K^+K^+(\Xi^-)$ will be presented.
