Speaker: Prof. Andrew Puckett,  Univ. of Connecticut
Title: "Precision studies of nucleon structure with CEBAF@12 GeV"

Abstract:

As the 12 GeV upgrade of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab) nears completion, an exciting program of precision measurements of nucleon and nuclear structure in medium energy fixed-target electron scattering is about to begin. Together with the unrivaled polarization, intensity and duty cycle of the CEBAF electron beam, the upgraded maximum beam energy of 11 GeV for electron scattering experiments will facilitate the mapping of the nucleon's rich, multidimensional substructure with an unprecedented combination of precision and kinematic coverage, facilitating the three-dimensional "imaging" of the nucleon's spin-dependent quark structure in coordinate and momentum space. To take optimal advantage of the physics potential of the upgraded CEBAF electron beam requires the detection of high-energy, forward-going hadrons with a wide solid-angle coverage at high luminosities. These fragments of the target nucleon, produced in "hard" electron-nucleon collisions at large energy and momentum transfers, carry information about the three-dimensional spatial and momentum distributions of the quarks in the initial nucleon. Detector upgrades currently under construction and/or nearing completion in JLab's experimental Halls will provide the high-rate detection capability at forward angles needed to take advantage of the higher beam energy. In this seminar, I will give a brief overview of the physics of electron-nucleon scattering, key results from previous experiments, and an overview of planned highlights of the JLab 12 GeV physics program, with a particular emphasis on measurements using the Super BigBite Spectrometer (SBS) currently under construction in Hall A.