Measurements of ep→e′π+π−p′ cross sections with CLAS at 1.40 GeV < W < 2.0 GeV and 2.0 GeV2 < Q2 < 5.0 GeV2

This paper reports new exclusive cross sections for $ep\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{p}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Laboratory. These results are presented for the first time at photon virtualities $2.0\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}l{Q}^{2}l5.0\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}$ in the center-of-mass energy range 1.4 GeV $lWl$ 2.0 GeV, which covers a large part of the nucleon resonance region. Using a model developed for the phenomenological analysis of electroproduction data, we see strong indications that the relative contributions from the resonant cross sections at $Wl1.74$ GeV increase with ${Q}^{2}$. These data considerably extend the kinematic reach of previous measurements. Exclusive $ep\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{p}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ cross section measurements are of particular importance for the extraction of resonance electrocouplings in the mass range above 1.6 GeV.