Tensor polarization of vector mesons from quark and gluon fragmentation

We considered the electro- and photoproduction of rho and other vector meso ns with moderately large transverse momentum in the scattering of unpolariz ed electrons on unpolarized nucleons and nuclei. For these processes we hav e analyzed how to extract the novel fragmentation functions (b) over bar(l) (q)(z), (b) over bar(l)(G)(z), describing tensor polarization, and the phot on double spin-flip distribution Delta(gamma) from the angular distribution of meson decay products. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.