The scalar meson spectrum and the search for glueballs

by Prof. Kenneth Hicks (Ohio University, USA)

Friday Dec 16, 2011, 5:00 PM → 6:00 PM Asia/Seoul

201-4호 (제1과학관)

It has been known for some time that scalar mesons, with spin J=0 and positive parity, exist. However, unlike the well-known pseudoscalar mesons, the mass spectrum of the scalar mesons shows several anomalies. For example, the lowest-mass scalar mesons are often considered to be dominated by 4-quark components in their wave-functions, rather than the conventional quark-antiquark description of mesons. Another anomaly is that mesons are expected to be found in groups of nine, made from an octet plus a singlet, yet the known scalar mesons do not fit conveniently into groups. One suggestion is that glueballs will mix with the scalar mesons and so will cause anomalous meson groupings. In this seminar, we will review the situation with scalar mesons and discuss strategies to search for the glueball using the upgraded CLAS12 detector at Jefferson Lab in the USA.