A Measurement of the Recoil Polarization of Electroproduced Λ(1116)

The CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer at the Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory was used to study the reaction e + p {yields} e{prime} + K{sup +} + {Lambda}(1116) for events where {Lambda}(1116) subsequently decayed via the channel {Lambda}(1116) {yields} p + {pi}{sup -}. Data were taken at incident electron beam energies of 2.5, 4.0, and 4.2 GeV during the 1999 E1C run period. They hyperon production spectra span the Q{sup 2} range from 0.5 to 2.8 GeV{sup 2} and nearly the entire range in the center of mass angles. The proton angular distribution in the {Lambda}(1116) rest frame is used to deduce the recoil polarization of the hyperon, and the W and cos {theta}{sub cm}{sup K+} dependence of the recoil polarization will be presented. The data show sizeable negative polarizations for the {Lambda}(1116) as a function of both cos {theta}{sub cm}{sup K+} and W.