PhD Dissertation Defense

We study a single pion electroproduction off the proton in the resonance region in the broad range of photon virtualities 0.4 -1.0 GeV^2 in the range of invariant mass W 1.1 - 1.8 GeV.  The experiment was conducted in Hall B at Jefferson Lab with the CLAS detector which provides a nearly 4pi angular coverage and uniquely suited for spectroscopic measurements.  The channel is identified by subsequent determination of the electron using information from Calorimeter and Drift Chambers system and proton from Time of Flight and Drift Chambers signals. Kinematical relations between charged particles separate single pion events. Detector efficiency and geometrical acceptance are studied with GEANT simulation of CLAS. Exclusive channel radiative corrections are developed and applied.  Full differential cross sections of single neutral pion electroproduction are measured with high statistical accuracy and small systematical error.  The quality of the overall data analysis is checked against both firmly established "benchmark'' reactions as well as existing experimental results on single pion electroproduction.  Structure functions and Legendre multipoles are extracted. They show the sensitivity of our measurements to different resonance electroproduction amplitudes.  Advanced phenomenological approach developed in Jefferson Lab will be used to extract electromagnetic transition form factors. This information will improve our understanding of the structure of QCD in the confinement regime.