Electron scattering from high-momentum neutrons in deuterium

Abstract

We report results from an experiment measuring the semiinclusive reaction H-2(e,e(')p(s)) in which the proton p(s) is moving at a large angle relative to the momentum transfer. If we assume that the proton was a spectator to the reaction taking place on the neutron in deuterium, the initial state of that neutron can be inferred. This method, known as spectator tagging, can be used to study electron scattering from high-momentum (off-shell) neutrons in deuterium. The data were taken with a 5.765 GeV electron beam on a deuterium target in Jefferson Laboratory's Hall B, using the CEBAF large acceptance spectrometer. A reduced cross section was extracted for different values of final state missing mass W-*, backward proton momentum p(s)(->), and momentum transfer Q(2). The data are compared to a simple plane wave impulse approximation (PWIA) spectator model. A strong enhancement in the data observed at transverse kinematics is not reproduced by the PWIA model. This enhancement can likely be associated with the contribution of final state interactions (FSI) that were not incorporated into the model. Within the framework of the simple spectator model, a "bound neutron structure function" F-2n(eff) was extracted as a function of W-* and the scaling variable x(*) at extreme backward kinematics, where the effects of FSI appear to be smaller. For p(s)> 0.4 GeV/c, where the neutron is far off-shell, the model overestimates the value of F-2n(eff) in the region of x(*) between 0.25 and 0.6. A dependence of the bound neutron structure function on the neutron's "off-shell-ness" is one possible effect that can cause the observed deviation.