Speaker
Description
We have investigated the spin structure of photoproduced hyperon pairs for the first time. At Jefferson Lab, we have collected data on the reactions $\gamma p \rightarrow \overline{\Lambda}\Lambda p$ (with $\Lambda \rightarrow \pi^- p, \overline{\Lambda} \rightarrow \pi^+ \overline{p}$) from the threshold up to a beam photon energy of 11.4 GeV. Phenomenological models have been developed to identify the reaction mechanisms behind the production of $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$ and $p\bar{\Lambda}$ systems, based on their momentum and angular correlations. We will present differential cross-sections as well as preliminary measurements of hyperon polarization, along with a study on the spin correlation of the hyperon pairs from the GlueX Phase-I period. These findings are expected to enhance our understanding of the role of strangeness in the dynamics of photoproduced baryonic systems, especially for the $p\bar{\Lambda}$ interaction that lacks guidelines from experimental data in the past. Furthermore, we will also discuss preliminary strangeonia investigations into the $K\pi$ mesonic system recoiling against $\Lambda$ or $\Sigma$ hyperons, which allows for the extraction of recoil polarization information to be incorporated into the amplitude analysis of kaon exchange in the GlueX polarized photon beam data.
