Hyperon Photo and Electro Production at CLAS

Abstract

Developments in strangeness photo- and electro- production off the proton, as investigated using the CLAS system in Hall B at Jefferson Lab, are discussed in this paper. By measuring sufficient spin observables one can decompose the reaction mechanism into elementary amplitudes. We discuss progress toward this end in recent data from CLAS, including cross sections and spin observables. We next discuss new results on the mass distribution of the $\Lambda(1405)$, which shows signs of being a composite meson-baryon object of mixed isospin. The work on other hyperons such as the $\Xi$ resonances will be mentioned, and future prospects outlined.