Spin density matrix elements in exclusive omega meson muoproduction

We report on a measurement of Spin Density Matrix Elements (SDMEs) in hard exclusive omega meson muoproduction on the proton at COMPASS using 160 GeV/c polarised mu(+) and mu(-) beams impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. The measurement covers the range 5.0 GeV/c(2) < W < 17.0 GeV/c(2), with the average kinematics < Q(2)>= 2.1 (GeV/c)(2), < W >=7.6 GeV/c(2), and < p(T)(2)>=0.16 (GeV/c)(2). Here, Q(2) denotes the virtuality of the exchanged photon, W the mass of the final hadronic system and p(T) the transverse momentum of the omega meson with respect to the virtual-photon direction. The measured non-zero SDMEs for the transitions of transversely polarised virtual photons to longitudinally polarised vector mesons (gamma(*)(T) -> V-L) indicate a violation of s-channel helicity conservation. Additionally, we observe a sizeable contribution of unnatural-parity-exchange (UPE) transitions that decreases with increasing W. The results provide important input for modelling Generalised Parton Distributions (GPDs). In particular, they may allow to evaluate in a model-dependent way the contribution of UPE transitions and assess the role of parton helicity-flip GPDs in exclusive omega production.

Automated summary

The study reports on the measurement of Spin Density Matrix Elements (SDMEs) in hard exclusive omega meson muoproduction on the proton at COMPASS, revealing a violation of s-channel helicity conservation and a significant contribution of unnatural-parity-exchange (UPE) transitions that decreases with increasing energy. These results provide important insights for modeling Generalised Parton Distributions (GPDs) and assessing the role of parton helicity-flip GPDs in exclusive omega production.