Exclusive Η Electroproduction at W>2 GeV with CLAS and Transversity Generalized Parton Distributions

The cross section of the exclusive eta electroproduction reaction ep -> e'p'eta was measured at Jefferson Laboratorywith a 5.75 GeV electron beam and the CLAS detector. Differential cross sections d(4) sigma/dtdQ(2) dx(B)d phi(eta) and structure functions sigma(U) = sigma(T) + epsilon sigma(L), sigma(TT), and sigma(LT), as functions of t, were obtained over a wide range of Q(2) and x(B). The eta structure functions are compared with those previously measured for pi(0) at the same kinematics. At low t, both pi(0) and eta are described reasonably well by generalized parton distributions (GPDs) in which chiral-odd transversity GPDs are dominant. The pi(0) and eta data, when taken together, can facilitate the flavor decomposition of the transversity GPDs.