Measurement of Spin-Density Matrix Elements of the ϕ(1020) Meson at GlueX

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab studies the photoproduction of mesons using a linearly polarized 8.5 GeV photon incident on a liquid hydrogen target. In the production of vector mesons, the spin state of the photons is conserved as they interact with target protons. The transfer of the photons' spin state to the mesons can be quantified by their spin-density matrix elements (SDMEs) which provide insight into the production mechanism this process. SDMEs are dependent on the angular distribution of the meson and its decay products and can vary with the square of four-momentum transfer (t). One of the reaction channels studied at GlueX is that of ϕ(1020). While most analyses place primary focus the dominant decay mode φ → KK, my work studies the OZI-suppressed decay channel ϕ → π+π-π0. I present SDMEs of the photoproduction of the vector meson ϕ(1020) as it decays to π+π-π0 using data from GlueX. From these results, it is possible to extract the parity-dependence of ϕ photoproduction and its sensitivities to other exchange processes.