Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering with Jefferson Lab’s CLAS12 at 6.4 GeV Polarized Electron Beam

By correlating a nucleon constituent's momentum fraction to its position in the transverse plane, Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) provide a comprehensive framework for describing the nucleon structure. Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) provides the cleanest access to the 3D imaging of the nucleon structure encoded in the GPDs. In the DVCS process, a quark's interaction in the nucleon with the virtual photon from the scattered electron results in the nucleon’s emission of a real photon.

The high luminosity, highly polarized electron beam accelerator of Jefferson Lab and the recently completed CLAS12 detector system in Hall B offer an ideal environment for DVCS experiment. With a large acceptance, CLAS12 is equipped with detectors optimally sensitive to DVCS final state particles. 

First DVCS data were collected with CLAS12 during the spring of 2018 at 6.4 GeV and at 10.6 GeV electron beam energies, using liquid hydrogen target. We will present a first look at DVCS data collected from this run period at 6.4 GeV beam energy, which serve as the checkpoint for evaluating the quality of the corrections and analysis for CLAS12 DVCS when compared with the well-established results of the previous CLAS DVCS experiments performed close to 6.4 GeV electron beam energy.