Date Thesis Awarded
5-2021
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Physics
Advisor
Justin Stevens
Committee Members
Mainak Patel
Todd Averett
Abstract
The Gluonic Excitations Experiment (GlueX) is an ongoing experiment at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) that studies the unique properties of mesons produced in photoproduction reactions. Using previously collected data from GlueX, this project aims to explore the production of $\phi\eta^\prime$ mesons. This research analyzes the photoproduction of the $K^{+}K^{-}\eta\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ final state, where $\phi\rightarrow$$K^{+}K^{-}$ and $\eta^\prime\rightarrow\eta\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ meson decays are observed in search of structure in this final state. The recent observations of structure in the $\phi\eta^\prime$ final state published by the BESIII collaboration serve as a basis for comparison. The method of sideband subtraction statistically subtracts the non-$\phi$ meson contributions in order to identify the $\phi\rightarrow$$K^{+}K^{-}$ decays. Then, to identify the $\eta^\prime\rightarrow\eta\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ decays, electromagnetic calorimeters are used to measure the photons from the $\eta\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ decay. New analysis software that is required to study this high multiplicity final state was developed by making use of the analysis tools available in ROOT, C++, and Python. This determined the yield and mass dependence of the $\phi\eta^\prime$ final state at GlueX. Finally, this research studied the beam energy distributions, $\phi\eta^\prime$ mass distributions, and Mandelstam t of the $\phi\eta^\prime$ events for three data sets from the GlueX experiment.
Recommended Citation
Salata, Elizabeth, "Exploring the $\phi\eta'$ Final State at GlueX" (2021). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1667.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1667
