Nuclear effects on the $\rho$ meson produced in the inclusive photonuclear reaction

Abstract

The hadronic properties of the $\rho$ meson produced in the inclusive photonuclear reaction have been investigated. The elementary reaction occurring in the nucleus is assumed as $\gamma N \to \rho^0 N$. The $\rho$ meson, while propagating through the nucleus, interacts with the nuclear particles, and therefore, the properties of the $\rho$ meson can be modified because of this interaction. Being a short-lived particle, the $\rho$ meson decays to various elementary particles, such as, $e^+e^-$, $\pi^+\pi^-$, .... etc. The $e^+e^-$ invariant mass, i.e., the $\rho$ meson mass, distribution spectra have been calculated to extract the information about the parameters, viz., mass and width, of the $\rho$ meson in the nucleus. The calculated results have been compared with the data reported from Jefferson Laboratory.