Towards a resolution of the proton form factor problem: new electron and positron scattering data

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

There is a significant discrepancy between the values of the proton electric form factor, GpE, extracted using unpolarized and polarized electron scattering. Calculations predict that small two-photon exchange (TPE) contributions can significantly affect the extraction of GpE from the unpolarized electron-proton cross sections. We determined the TPE contribution by measuring the ratio of positron-proton to electron-proton elastic scattering cross sections using a simultaneous, tertiary electron-positron beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target and detecting the scattered particles in the Jefferson Lab CLAS detector. This novel technique allowed us to cover a wide range in virtual photon polarization (ϵ) and momentum transfer (Q2) simultaneously, as well as to cancel luminosity-related systematic errors. The cross section ratio increases with decreasing ϵ at Q2=1.45  GeV2. This measurement is consistent with the size of the form factor discrepancy at Q2≈1.75  GeV2 and with hadronic calculations including nucleon and Δ intermediate states, which have been shown to resolve the discrepancy up to 2–3  GeV2.

Comments

© 2015 American Physical Society

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Publication Title

Physical Review Letters

Published Citation

Adikaram, D., D. Rimal, L. B. Weinstein, B. Raue, P. Khetarpal, R. P. Bennett, J. Arrington, Biselli A. et al [CLAS Collaboration]. "Towards a resolution of the proton form factor problem: new electron and positron scattering data." Physical review letters 114, no. 6 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.062003

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.062003

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