Polarization transfer in e⁺p→ e⁺p scattering using the Super BigBite Spectrometer

The effects of multi-photon-exchange and other higher-order QED corrections on elastic electron-proton scattering have been a subject of high experimental and theoretical interest since the polarization transfer measurements of the proton electromagnetic form factor ratio GEp/GMp at large momentum transfer Q² conclusively established the strong decrease of this ratio with Q² for Q²≳ 1 GeV ². This result is incompatible with previous extractions of this quantity from cross section measurements using the Rosenbluth Separation technique. Much experimental attention has been focused on extracting the two-photon exchange (TPE) effect through the unpolarized e⁺p/ e^-p cross section ratio, but polarization transfer in polarized elastic scattering can also reveal evidence of hard two-photon exchange. Furthermore, it has a different sensitivity to the generalized TPE form factors, meaning that measurements provide new information that cannot be gleaned from unpolarized scattering alone. Both ϵ-dependence of polarization transfer at fixed Q², and deviations between electron-proton and positron-proton scattering are key signatures of hard TPE. A polarized positron beam at Jefferson Lab would present a unique opportunity to make the first measurement of positron polarization transfer, and comparison with electron-scattering data would place valuable constraints on hard TPE. Here, we propose a measurement program in Hall A that combines the Super BigBite Spectrometer for measuring recoil proton polarization, with a non-magnetic calorimetric detector for triggering on elastically scattered positrons. Though the reduced beam current of the positron beam will restrict the kinematic reach, this measurement will have very small systematic uncertainties, making it a clean probe of TPE.