Single-spin asymmetries for pions and charged kaons are measured in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of positrons and electrons off a transversely nuclear-polarized hydrogen target. The ...dependence of the cross section on the azimuthal angles of the target polarization (ϕS) and the produced hadron (ϕ) is found to have a substantial sin(ϕ+ϕS) modulation for the production of π+, π− and K+. This Fourier component can be interpreted in terms of non-zero transversity distribution functions and non-zero favored and disfavored Collins fragmentation functions with opposite sign. For π0 and K− production the amplitude of this Fourier component is consistent with zero.
The momentum and helicity density distributions of the strange quark sea in the nucleon are obtained in leading order from charged-kaon production in deep-inelastic scattering on the deuteron. The ...distributions are extracted from spin-averaged K± multiplicities, and from K± and inclusive double-spin asymmetries for scattering of polarized positrons by a polarized deuterium target. The shape of the momentum distribution is softer than that of the average of the u¯ and d¯ quarks. In the region of measurement 0.02<x<0.6 and Q2>1.0 GeV2, the helicity distribution is zero within experimental uncertainties.
Exclusive electroproduction of
ω
mesons on unpolarized hydrogen and deuterium targets is studied in the kinematic region of
Q
2
>
1.0
GeV
2
, 3.0 GeV
<
W
<
6.3 GeV, and
-
t
′
<
0.2
GeV
2
. ...Results on the angular distribution of the
ω
meson, including its decay products, are presented. The data were accumulated with the HERMES forward spectrometer during the 1996–2007 running period using the 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron or positron beam of HERA. The determination of the virtual-photon longitudinal-to-transverse cross-section ratio reveals that a considerable part of the cross section arises from transversely polarized photons. Spin density matrix elements are presented in projections of
Q
2
or
-
t
′
. Violation of
s
-channel helicity conservation is observed for some of these elements. A sizable contribution from unnatural-parity-exchange amplitudes is found and the phase shift between those amplitudes that describe transverse
ω
production by longitudinal and transverse virtual photons,
γ
L
∗
→
ω
T
and
γ
T
∗
→
ω
T
, is determined for the first time. A hierarchy of helicity amplitudes is established, which mainly means that the unnatural-parity-exchange amplitude describing the
γ
T
∗
→
ω
T
transition dominates over the two natural-parity-exchange amplitudes describing the
γ
L
∗
→
ω
L
and
γ
T
∗
→
ω
T
transitions, with the latter two being of similar magnitude. Good agreement is found between the HERMES proton data and results of a pQCD-inspired phenomenological model that includes pion-pole contributions, which are of unnatural parity.
A series of semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering measurements on deuterium, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon targets has been performed in order to study hadronization. The data were collected ...with the HERMES detector at the DESY laboratory using a 27.6 GeV positron or electron beam. Hadron multiplicities on nucleus
A relative to those on the deuteron,
R
A
h
, are presented for various hadrons (
π
+
,
π
−
,
π
0
,
K
+
,
K
−
,
p, and
p
¯
) as a function of the virtual-photon energy
ν, the fraction
z of this energy transferred to the hadron, the photon virtuality
Q
2
, and the hadron transverse momentum squared
p
t
2
. The data reveal a systematic decrease of
R
A
h
with the mass number
A for each hadron type
h. Furthermore,
R
A
h
increases (decreases) with increasing values of
ν (
z), increases slightly with increasing
Q
2
, and is almost independent of
p
t
2
, except at large values of
p
t
2
. For pions two-dimensional distributions also are presented. These indicate that the dependences of
R
A
π
on
ν and
z can largely be described as a dependence on a single variable
L
c
, which is a combination of
ν and
z. The dependence on
L
c
suggests in which kinematic conditions partonic and hadronic mechanisms may be dominant. The behaviour of
R
A
π
at large
p
t
2
constitutes tentative evidence for a partonic energy-loss mechanism. The
A-dependence of
R
A
h
is investigated as a function of
ν,
z, and of
L
c
. It approximately follows an
A
α
form with
α
≈
0.5
–
0.6
.
Exclusive electroproduction of π+ mesons was studied by scattering 27.6 GeV positrons or electrons off a transversely polarized hydrogen target. The single-spin azimuthal asymmetry with respect to ...target polarization was measured as a function of the Mandelstam variable t, the Bjorken scaling variable xB, and the virtuality Q2 of the exchanged photon. The extracted Fourier components of the asymmetry were found to be consistent with zero, except one that was found to be large and that involves interference of contributions from longitudinal and transverse virtual photons.
A measurement of the virtual-photon asymmetry
A
2
(
x
,
Q
2
) and of the spin-structure function
g
2
(
x
,
Q
2
) of the proton are presented for the kinematic range 0.004<
x
<0.9 and 0.18 GeV
2
<
Q
2
...<20 GeV
2
. The data were collected by the HERMES experiment at the HERA storage ring at DESY while studying inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarized leptons off a transversely polarized hydrogen gas target. The results are consistent with previous experimental data from CERN and SLAC. For the
x
-range covered, the measured integral of
g
2
(
x
) converges to the null result of the Burkhardt–Cottingham sum rule. The
x
2
moment of the twist-3 contribution to
g
2
(
x
) is found to be compatible with zero.
The first detailed measurement of the dependence on target nuclear mass of the average squared transverse momentum 〈pt2〉 of π+, π−, and K+ mesons from deep-inelastic lepton scattering is obtained as ...a function of several kinematic variables. The data were accumulated at the Hermes experiment at Desy, in which the Hera 27.6 GeV lepton beam was scattered off several nuclear gas targets. The average squared transverse momentum was clearly observed to increase with atomic mass number. The effect increases as a function of Q2 and x and remains constant as a function of both the virtual photon energy ν and the fractional hadron energy z, except that it vanishes as z approaches unity.
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