Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
DOI
10.1103/lqv1-kf2n
Publication Title
Physical Review C
Volume
113
Issue
6
Pages
065203
Abstract
We present measurements of the total and differential cross sections for near-threshold 𝐽/ψ photoproduction obtained with the CLAS12 detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The results are based on data collected during the fall 2018 and spring 2019 running periods, using electron beams with energies of 10.6 and 10.2 GeV, respectively, scattered off a liquid-hydrogen target. Near-threshold J/ψ photoproduction offers a unique sensitivity to the strong interaction in the nonperturbative regime of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The energy dependence of the cross section constrains the underlying J/ψ production mechanisms, including multigluon exchange and potential baryonic excitations. Additionally, the t dependence of the differential cross section can be related to the transverse spatial distribution of gluons in the proton, providing critical input for theoretical descriptions of the gluonic structure of the proton. An interpretation of the results in terms of the gluon content of the proton is presented, providing new experimental constraints on QCD-inspired models of the proton structure and the role of gluonic degrees of freedom in hadronic mass generation.
Rights
© 2026 The Authors.
Published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the authors and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.
Data Availability
Article states: "The data that support the findings of this article are openly available. [45]"
Original Publication Citation
Chatagnon, P., Kubarovsky, V., Paremuzyan, R., Stepanyan, S., Tenorio, M., Tyson, R., Acar, A. G., Achenbach, P., Alvarado, J. S., Amaryan, M. J., Armstrong, W. R., Avakian, H., Baltzell, N. A., Barion, L., Bashkanov, M., Battaglieri, M., Benmokhtar, F., Bianconi, A., Biselli, A. S.,…Zurek, M. (2026). Measurement of the near-threshold J/ψ photoproduction cross section with the CLAS12 experiment. Physical Review C, 113(6), Article 065203. https://doi.org/10.1103/lqv1-kf2n
ORCID
0000-0002-5648-0256 (Amaryan), 0009-0009-3736-5832 (Fogler), 0000-0001-7282-8120 (Hyde), 0000-0003-2243-6836 (Kuhn),
Repository Citation
CLAS Collaboration; Chatagnon, P.; Kubarovsky, V.; Paremuzyan, R.; Stepanyan, S.; Tenorio, M.; Tyson, R.; Acar, A. G.; Achenbach, P.; Alvarado, J. S.; Amaryan, M. J.; Armstrong, W. R.; Avakian, H.; Baltzell, N. A.; Barion, L.; Bashkanov, M.; Battaglieri, M.; Benmokhtar, F.; Bianconi, A.; Biselli, A. S.; Boiarinov, S.; Bondi, M.; Bossù, F.; Brinkmann, K. -Th; Briscoe, W. J.; Bueltmann, S.; Burkert, V. D.; Cao, T.; Carman, D. S.; Celentano, A.; Chinchay, H.; Ciullo, G.; Cole, P. L.; Angelo, A. D'; Dashyan, N.; Defurne, M.; De Vita, R.; Deur, A.; Diehl, S.; Dilks, C.; Djalali, C.; Dugger, M.; Dupré, R.; Egiyan, H.; Ehrhart, M.; Alaoui, A. El; El Fassi, L.; Elouadrhiri, L.; Farooq, M.; Fegan, S.; Ferguson, R. F.; Fernando, I. P.; Ferrand, E.; Filippi, A.; Fogler, C.; Gates, K.; Gilfoyle, G. P.; Glazier, D. I.; Gothe, R. W.; Gotra, Y.; Gualtieri, B.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hauenstein, F.; Hayward, T. B.; Heddle, D.; Hoballah, M.; Holmberg, D.; Holtrop, M.; Hyde, C. E.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D. G.; Isupov, E. L.; Jo, H. S.; Joo, K.; Kageya, T.; Kerr, M.; Kim, A.; Klest, H. T.; Klimenko, V.; Korover, I.; Kripko, A.; Kuhn, S. E.; Lanza, L.; Lee, S.; Lenisa, P.; Li, X.; Marchand, D.; Martiryan, D.; Mascagna, V.; McKinnon, B.; Mehta, A.; Milner, R. G.; Mineeva, T.; Mirazita, M.; Mokeev, V. I.; Molina Cardenas, E. F.; Camacho, C. Munoz; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Neupane, K.; Nguyen, D.; Niccolai, S.; Niculescu, G.; Osipenko, M.; Ouillon, M.; Pandey, P.; Paolone, M.; Pappalardo, L. L.; Pasyuk, E.; Paudel, C.; Paul, S. J.; Phelps, W.; Pilleux, N.; Polizzi, L.; Poudel, J.; Price, J. W.; Prok, Y.; Radic, A.; Richards, J.; Ripani, M.; Rossi, P.; Rusova, A. A.; Salgado, C.; Schadmand, S.; Schmidt, A.; Scott, M. B. C.; Sharabian, Y. G.; Shirokov, E. V.; Shrestha, S.; Sidoretti, E.; Sparveris, N.; Strakovsky, I. I.; Strauch, S.; Touchte Codjo, F.; Ungaro, M.; Upton, D. W.; Vaishnavi, P. S. H.; Vallarino, S.; Velasquez, C.; Venturelli, L.; Voskanyan, H.; Vossen, A.; Voutier, E.; Wang, Y.; Watts, D. P.; Weerasinghe, U.; Wei, X.; Wood, M. H.; Xu, L.; Xu, Z.; Zhao, Z. W.; Ziegler, V.; and Zurek, M., "Measurement of the Near-Threshold J/ψ Photoproduction Cross Section with the CLAS12 Experiment" (2026). Physics Faculty Publications. 1048.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/physics_fac_pubs/1048