Abstract
We discuss the electroproduction of a pseudoscalar () meson or a scalar () meson off the scalar target. The most general formulation of the differential cross section for the or meson process involves only one or two hadronic form factors, respectively, on a scalar target. The Rosenbluth-type separation of the differential cross section provides the explicit relation between the hadronic form factors and the different parts of the differential cross section in a completely model-independent manner. The absence of the beam spin asymmetry for the pseudoscalar meson production provides a benchmark for the experimental data analysis. The measurement of the beam spin asymmetry for the scalar meson production may also provide a unique opportunity not only to explore the imaginary part of the hadronic amplitude in the general formulation but also to examine the significance of the chiral-odd generalized parton distribution (GPD) contribution in the leading-twist GPD formulation.
- Received 25 February 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.99.116008
© 2019 American Physical Society