The spin structure functions of the proton and the deuteron were measured during the EG4 experiment at Jefferson Lab in 2006. Data were collected for longitudinally polarized electron scattering off longitudinally polarized NH_3 and ND_3 targets, for Q^2 values as small as 0.012 and 0.02 GeV^2, respectively, using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). This is the archival paper of the EG4 experiment that summaries the previously reported results of the polarized structure functions g_1, A_1F_1, and their moments Γ_1, γ_0, and I_TT, for both the proton and the deuteron. In addition, we report on new results on the neutron g_1 extracted by combining proton and deuteron data and correcting for Fermi smearing, and on the neutron moments Γ_1, γ_0, and I_TT formed directly from those of the proton and the deuteron. Our data are in good agreement with the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule for the proton, deuteron, and neutron. Furthermore, the isovector combination was formed for g_1 and the Bjorken integral Γ_1^p-n, and compared to available theoretical predictions. All of our results provide for the first time extensive tests of spin observable predictions from chiral effective field theory (χEFT) in a Q^2 range commensurate with the pion mass. They motivate further improvement in χEFT calculations from other approaches such as the lattice gauge method.
We have measured the flavor dependence of multiplicities for π+ and π− production in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) on proton and deuteron to explore a possible charge symmetry violation in fragmentation functions. The experiment used an electron beam with energies of 10.2 and 10.6 GeV at Jefferson Lab and the Hall-C spectrometers. The electron kinematics spanned the range 0.3<x<0.6, 2<Q2<5.5 GeV2, and 2.2<W<3.2 GeV. The pion fractional momentum range was 0.3<z<0.7, and the transverse momentum range was 0<pT<0.25 GeV/c. Assuming factorization and allowing for isospin breaking, the results can be described by two “favored” and two “unfavored” effective low pT fragmentation functions that are flavor-dependent. We find each pair converges to a common flavor-independent fragmentation function at the highest W, where factorization is most applicable.
Nucleon structure functions, as measured in lepton-nucleon scattering, have historically provided a critical observable in the study of partonic dynamics within the nucleon. However, at very large parton momenta it is both experimentally and theoretically challenging to extract parton distributions due to the probable onset of non-perturbative contributions and the unavailability of high precision data at critical kinematics. Extraction of the neutron structure and the d-quark distribution have been further challenging due to the necessity of applying nuclear corrections when utilizing scattering data from a deuteron target to extract free neutron structure. However, a program of experiments has been carried out recently at the energy-upgraded Jefferson Lab electron accelerator aimed at significantly reducing the nuclear correction uncertainties on the d-quark distribution function at large partonic momentum. This allows leveraging the vast body of deuterium data covering a large kinematic range to be utilized for d-quark parton distribution function extraction. We present new data from experiment E12-10-002 carried out in Jefferson Lab Hall C on the deuteron to proton cross-section ratio at large BJorken-x. These results significantly improve the precision of existing data, and provide a first look at the expected impact on quark distributions extracted from global parton distribution function fits.
This document presents the initial scientific case for upgrading the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab) to 22 GeV. It is the result of a community effort, incorporating insights from a series of workshops conducted between March 2022 and April 2023. With a track record of over 25 years in delivering the world's most intense and precise multi-GeV electron beams, CEBAF's potential for a higher energy upgrade presents a unique opportunity for an innovative nuclear physics program, which seamlessly integrates a rich historical background with a promising future. The proposed physics program encompass a diverse range of investigations centered around the nonperturbative dynamics inherent in hadron structure and the exploration of strongly interacting systems. It builds upon the exceptional capabilities of CEBAF in high-luminosity operations, the availability of existing or planned Hall equipment, and recent advancements in accelerator technology. The proposed program cover various scientific topics, including Hadron Spectroscopy, Partonic Structure and Spin, Hadronization and Transverse Momentum, Spatial Structure, Mechanical Properties, Form Factors and Emergent Hadron Mass, Hadron-Quark Transition, and Nuclear Dynamics at Extreme Conditions, as well as QCD Confinement and Fundamental Symmetries. Each topic highlights the key measurements achievable at a 22 GeV CEBAF accelerator. Furthermore, this document outlines the significant physics outcomes and unique aspects of these programs that distinguish them from other existing or planned facilities. In summary, this document provides an exciting rationale for the energy upgrade of CEBAF to 22 GeV, outlining the transformative scientific potential that lies within reach, and the remarkable opportunities it offers for advancing our understanding of hadron physics and related fundamental phenomena.
The nuclear dependence of the inclusive inelastic electron scattering cross section (the EMC effect) has been measured for the first time in B10 and B11. Previous measurements of the EMC effect in A≤12 nuclei showed an unexpected nuclear dependence; B10 and B11 were measured to explore the EMC effect in this region in more detail. Results are presented for Be9, B10, B11, and C12 at an incident beam energy of 10.6 GeV. The EMC effect in the boron isotopes was found to be similar to that for Be9 and C12, yielding almost no nuclear dependence in the EMC effect in the range A=4–12. This represents important new data supporting the hypothesis that the EMC effect depends primarily on the local nuclear environment due to the cluster structure of these nuclei.Received 8 July 2022Revised 21 April 2023Accepted 17 July 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.108.035201©2023 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasLepton induced nuclear reactionsQCD in nuclear reactionsProperties6 ≤ A ≤ 19TechniquesParticle sources & targetsSpectrometers & spectroscopic techniquesNuclear Physics
Quasi-elastic scattering on $^{12}$C$(e,e'p)$ was measured in Hall C at Jefferson Lab for space-like 4-momentum transfer squared $Q^2$ in the range of 8--14.2\,(GeV/$c$)$^2$ with proton momenta up to 8.3\,GeV/$c$. The experiment was carried out in the upgraded Hall C at Jefferson Lab. It used the existing high momentum spectrometer and the new super high momentum spectrometer to detect the scattered electrons and protons in coincidence. The nuclear transparency was extracted as the ratio of the measured yield to the yield calculated in the plane wave impulse approximation. Additionally, the transparency of the $1s_{1/2}$ and $1p_{3/2}$ shell protons in $^{12}$C was extracted, and the asymmetry of the missing momentum distribution was examined for hints of the quantum chromodynamics prediction of Color Transparency. All of these results were found to be consistent with traditional nuclear physics and inconsistent with the onset of Color Transparency.
Quasielastic scattering on 12C(e, e'p) was measured in Hall C at Jefferson Lab for spacelike four-momentum transfer squared Q2 in the range of 8-14.2 (GeV/c)2 with proton momenta up to 8.3 GeV/c. The experiment was carried out in the upgraded Hall C at Jefferson Lab. It used the existing high-momentum spectrometer and the new super-high-momentum spectrometer to detect the scattered electrons and protons in coincidence. The nuclear transparency was extracted as the ratio of the measured yield to the yield calculated in the plane wave impulse approximation. Additionally, the transparency of the 1s1/2 and 1p3/2 shell protons in 12C was extracted, and the asymmetry of the missing momentum distribution was examined for hints of the quantum chromodynamics prediction of color transparency. All of these results were found to be consistent with traditional nuclear physics and inconsistent with the onset of color transparency.
The nuclear dependence of the inclusive inelastic electron scattering cross section (the EMC effect) has been measured for the first time in 10B and 11B. Previous measurements of the EMC effect in A 12 nuclei showed an unexpected nuclear dependence; 10B and 11B were measured to explore the EMC effect in this region in more detail. Results are presented for 9Be, 10B, 11B, and 12C at an incident beam energy of 10.6 GeV. The EMC effect in the boron isotopes was found to be similar to that for 9Be and 12C, yielding almost no nuclear dependence in the EMC effect in the range A = 4-12. This represents important new data supporting the hypothesis that the EMC effect depends primarily on the local nuclear environment due to the cluster structure of these nuclei.
We report on a detailed study of longitudinal strength in the nucleon resonance region, presenting new results from inclusive electron-proton cross sections measured at Jefferson Lab Hall C in the four-momentum transfer range 0.2 < Q^2 < 5.5 GeV^2. The data have been used to accurately perform 167 Rosenbluth-type longitudinal / transverse separations. The precision R = sigma_L / sigma_T data are presented here, along with the first separate values of the inelastic structure functions F_1 and F_L in this regime. The resonance longitudinal component is found to be significant, both in magnitude and in the existence of defined mass peaks. Additionally, quark-hadron duality is here observed above Q^2 = 1 GeV^2 in the separated structure functions independently.
K .Abe,T.Akagi,B.D.Anderson,P.L.Anthony,R.G .Arnold,T.Averett,H.R.Band,C.M . Berisso,P.Bogorad,H.Borel,P.E.Bosted,V.Breton,M .J.Buenerd,G .D.Cates,T.E.Chupp,S. Churchwell,K .P.Coulter,M .Daoudi,P.Decowski,R.Erickson,J.N.Fellbaum ,H.Fonvieille,R. G earhart,V.G hazikhanian,K .A.G ri oen ,R.S.Hicks,R.Holm es,E.W .Hughes,G .Igo,S.Incerti,J. R.Johnson,W .K ahl,M .K hayat,Yu.G .K olom ensky,S.E.K uhn,K .K um ar,M .K uriki,R. Lom bard-Nelsen,D.M .M anley,J.M arroncle,T.M aruyam a,T.M arvin,W .M eyer,Z.-E.M eziani,D. M iller,G .M itchell,M .O lson,G .A.Peterson,G .G .Petratos,R.Pitthan,R.Prepost,P.Raines,B. Raue,D.Reyna,L.S.Rochester,S.E.Rock,M .V.Rom alis,F.Sabatie,G .Shapiro,J.Shaw,T.B. Sm ith,L.Sorrell,P.A.Souder,F.Staley,S.St.Lorant,L.M .Stuart,F.Suekane,Z.M .Szalata,Y. Terrien,A.K .Thom pson,T.Toole,X.W ang,J.W .W atson,R.C.W elsh,F.W esselm ann,T.W right, C.C.Young,B.Youngm an,H.Yuta,W .-M .Zhang,and P.Zyla 1 Am erican University,W ashington,DC 20016
Inclusive electron scattering from nuclear targets has been measured to extract the nuclear dependence of the inelastic cross section in Hall C at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator facility. Results are presented for 2H, 3He, 4He, 9B, 12C, 63Cu and 197Au at an incident electron beam energy of 5.77 GeV for a range of momentum transfer from Q^2 = 2 to 7 (GeV/c)^2. These data improve the precision of the existing measurements of the EMC effect in the nuclear targets at large x, and allow for more detailed examinations of the A dependence of the EMC effect.
Quasielastic ^{12}C(e,e^{'}p) scattering was measured at spacelike 4-momentum transfer squared Q^{2}=8, 9.4, 11.4, and 14.2 (GeV/c)^{2}, the highest ever achieved to date. Nuclear transparency for this reaction was extracted by comparing the measured yield to that expected from a plane-wave impulse approximation calculation without any final state interactions. The measured transparency was consistent with no Q^{2} dependence, up to proton momenta of 8.5 GeV/c, ruling out the quantum chromodynamics effect of color transparency at the measured Q^{2} scales in exclusive (e,e^{'}p) reactions. These results impose strict constraints on models of color transparency for protons.
Measurements of the proton's spin structure in experiments scattering a polarized electron beam off polarized protons in regions of low momentum transfer squared test predictions from chiral effective field theory of the strong interaction.Measuring the spin structure of protons and neutrons tests our understanding of how they arise from quarks and gluons, the fundamental building blocks of nuclear matter. At long distances, the coupling constant of the strong interaction becomes large, requiring non-perturbative methods to calculate quantum chromodynamics processes, such as lattice gauge theory or effective field theories. Here we report proton spin structure measurements from scattering a polarized electron beam off polarized protons. The spin-dependent cross-sections were measured at large distances, corresponding to the region of low momentum transfer squared between 0.012 and 1.0 GeV2. This kinematic range provides unique tests of chiral effective field theory predictions. Our results show that a complete description of the nucleon spin remains elusive, and call for further theoretical works, for example, in lattice quantum chromodynamics. Finally, our data extrapolated to the photon point agree with the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule, a fundamental prediction of quantum field theory that relates the anomalous magnetic moment of the proton to its integrated spin-dependent cross-sections.
J. Arrington, 2 J. Bane, 4 A. Daniel, 6 N. Fomin, 4, 6 D. Gaskell, J. Seely, R. Asaturyan, ∗ F. Benmokhtar, W. Boeglin, P. Bosted, M.H.S. Bukhari, M.E. Christy, S. Connell, † M.M. Dalton, 8 D. Day, J. Dunne, D. Dutta, 15 L. El Fassi, R. Ent, H. Fenker, H. Gao, 15 R.J. Holt, T. Horn, 8, 16 E. Hungerford, M.K. Jones, J. Jourdan, N. Kalantarians, C.E. Keppel, 13 D. Kiselev, ‡ A.F. Lung, S. Malace, D.G. Meekins, T. Mertens, H. Mkrtchyan, G. Niculescu, I. Niculescu, D.H. Potterveld, C. Perdrisat, V. Punjabi, X. Qian, P.E. Reimer, J. Roche, V.M. Rodriguez, O. Rondon, E. Schulte, K. Slifer, G.R. Smith, P. Solvignon, ∗ V. Tadevosyan, L. Tang, 13 G. Testa, R. Trojer, V. Tvaskis, F.R. Wesselmann, S.A. Wood, L. Yuan, and X. Zheng 6 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37966, USA University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77044, USA University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606, USA Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA A.I. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute), 02 Alikhanyan Brothers Str., Yerevan 0036, Armenia University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia 23669, USA Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762, USA Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA Basel University, Basel, Switzerland James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807, USA College of William and Mary, Wiliamsburg, Virginia, 23185, USA Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, USA (Dated: October 19, 2021)
We measure ^{2}H(e,e^{'}p)n cross sections at 4-momentum transfers of Q^{2}=4.5±0.5 (GeV/c)^{2} over a range of neutron recoil momenta p_{r}, reaching up to ∼1.0 GeV/c. We obtain data at fixed neutron recoil angles θ_{nq}=35°, 45°, and 75° with respect to the 3-momentum transfer q[over →]. The new data agree well with previous data, which reached p_{r}∼500 MeV/c. At θ_{nq}=35° and 45°, final state interactions, meson exchange currents, and isobar currents are suppressed and the plane wave impulse approximation provides the dominant cross section contribution. We compare the new data to recent theoretical calculations, where we observe a significant discrepancy for recoil momenta p_{r}>700 MeV/c.
The ratio of the electric and magnetic form factor of the proton, $\mu_p G_E^p/G_M^p$, has been measured for elastic electron-proton scattering with polarized beam and target up to four-momentum transfer squared, $Q^2=5.66$ (GeV/c)$^2$ using the double spin asymmetry for target spin orientation aligned nearly perpendicular to the beam momentum direction. This measurement of $\mu_p G_E^p/G_M^p$ agrees with the $Q^2$ dependence of previous recoil polarization data and reconfirms the discrepancy at high $Q^2$ between the Rosenbluth and the polarization-transfer method with a different measurement technique and systematic uncertainties uncorrelated to those of the recoil-polarization measurements. The form factor ratio at $Q^2$=2.06 (GeV/c)$^2$ has been measured as $\mu_p G_E^p/G_M^p = 0.720 \pm 0.176_{stat} \pm 0.039_{sys}$, which is in agreement with an earlier measurement with the polarized target technique at similar kinematics. The form factor ratio at $Q^2$=5.66 (GeV/c)$^2$ has been determined as $\mu_p G_E^p/G_M^p=0.244\pm0.353_{stat}\pm0.013_{sys}$, which represents the highest $Q^2$ reach with the double spin asymmetry with polarized target to date.
The Spin Asymmetries of the Nucleon Experiment measured two double spin asymmetries using a polarized proton target and polarized electron beam at two beam energies, 4.7 and 5.9 GeV. A large-acceptance open-configuration detector package identified scattered electrons at 40° and covered a wide range in Bjorken x (0.3<x<0.8). Proportional to an average color Lorentz force, the twist-3 matrix element, d[over ˜]_{2}^{p}, was extracted from the measured asymmetries at Q^{2} values ranging from 2.0 to 6.0 GeV^{2}. The data display the opposite sign compared to most quark models, including the lattice QCD result, and an unexpected scale dependence. Furthermore, when combined with the neutron data in the same Q^{2} range the results suggest a flavor independent average color Lorentz force.
We present extractions of the nucleon nonsinglet moments utilizing new precision data on the deuteron F_{2} structure function at large Bjorken-x determined via the Rosenbluth separation technique at Jefferson Lab Experimental Hall C. These new data are combined with a complementary set of data on the proton previously measured in Hall C at similar kinematics and world datasets on the proton and deuteron at lower x measured at SLAC and CERN. The new Jefferson Lab data provide coverage of the upper third of the x range, crucial for precision determination of the higher moments. In contrast to previous extractions, these moments have been corrected for nuclear effects in the deuteron using a new global fit to the deuteron and proton data. The obtained experimental moments represent an order of magnitude improvement in precision over previous extractions using high x data. Moreover, recent exciting developments in lattice QCD calculations provide a first ever comparison of these new experimental results with calculations of moments carried out at the physical pion mass, as well as a new approach that first calculates the quark distributions directly before determining moments.