Induced polarization of Λ(1116) in kaon electroproduction

We have measured. the induced polarization of the Λ(1116) in the reaction ep→e′K+Λ, detecting the scattered e′ and K+ in the final state along with the proton from the decay Λ→pπ-. The present study used the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS), which allowed for a large kinematic acceptance in invariant energy W (1.6≤W≤2.7 GeV) and covered the full range of the kaon production angle at an average momentum transfer Q2=1.90GeV2. In this experiment a 5.50-GeV electron beam was incident upon an unpolarized liquid-hydrogen target. We have mapped out the W and kaon production angle dependencies of the induced polarization and found striking differences from photoproduction data over most of the kinematic range studied. However, we also found that the induced polarization is essentially Q2 independent in our kinematic domain, suggesting that somewhere below the Q2 covered here there must be a strong Q2 dependence. Along with previously published photo- and electroproduction cross sections and polarization observables, these data are needed for the development of models, such as effective field theories, and as input to coupled-channel analyses that can provide evidence of previously unobserved s-channel resonances.