Studying Short-Range Correlations Through ω Meson Photoproduction

Short-range correlations (SRCs) are a universal feature of nuclear structure in which pairs of nucleons enter a state of close proximity, and undergo an intense repulsion via the strong force. This extreme manifestation of the strong force results in the high relative momenta of the nucleons, exceeding the typical nuclear Fermi momentum. Much of what is known about SRCs has come from electron scattering experiments, which require a set of assumptions about the reaction mechanisms taking place to interpret the results. To test the impact of these assumptions, an experiment was conducted at Jefferson Lab in 2021 that used a high-energy photon beam in conjunction with the GlueX Detector, to study SRCs using photoproduction reactions. My work focuses on the photoproduction of ω mesons off of ejected bound protons, and reconstructing the momentum transferred to the proton during the reaction. After spending time at JLab and working with the detector, I have worked to isolate the production of ω mesons at high-t from various backgrounds. My primary observable is the beam spin asymmetry, Σ, in ω production from nucleons in SRC pairs and in quasi-free kinematics. My analysis compares the results of SRC protons to their noncorrelated counterparts.