Current status of a partial wave analysis of the $\gamma p \rightarrow K^{+} \Lambda$ reaction using data from CLAS at Jefferson Lab

Couplings of $N^{*}$ states to two-body final state have been predicted using relativized quark-model calculations. Though these predictions give couplings to the $K^{+} \Lambda$ final state that are small relative to the couplings of other final states, the $K^{+} \Lambda$ channel is an interesting application of partial wave analysis techniques because it couples only to the iso-spin $\frac{1}{2}$ $N^{*}$ states and the self-analyzing $\Lambda$ decay to $p \pi^{-}$ allows study of the $\Lambda$ polarization. We have isolated some $1.6\times10^{6}$ $\gamma p \rightarrow K^{+} \Lambda$ signal events in the CLAS g11a dataset. The signal is remarkably clean with less than 2\% background to total ratio across 95\% of the observed W range ($1.63 GeV < W < 2.84 GeV$). I will present preliminary differential cross-section and recoil polarization results from this channel which are consistent with both previous CLAS measurements and world data. I will also present the status of the partial wave analysis of the $K^{+} \Lambda$ channel. We fit using information from the g11a run ($\frac{d\sigma}{dt}$, $\Lambda$ recoil polarization) as well as double polarization observables from the CLAS g1c run to constrain possible physics models. These polarization observables are a particularly powerful constraint on non-resonant (t-channel) processes.