Final Analysis of Proton Form Factor Ratio Data at Q2 = 4.0, 4.8 and 5.6 GeV2
Abstract
Precise measurements of the proton electromagnetic form factor ratio R = μp GEp/GMp using the polarization transfer method at Jefferson Lab have revolutionized the understanding of nucleon structure by revealing the strong decrease of R with momentum transfer Q2 for Q2 1 GeV2, in strong disagreement with previous extractions of R from cross section measurements. In particular, the polarization transfer results have exposed the limits of applicability of the one-photon-exchange approximation and highlighted the role of quark orbital angular momentum in the nucleon structure. The GEp-II experiment in Jefferson Lab's Hall A measured R at four Q2 values in the range 3.5 GeV2 Q2 5.6 GeV2. A possible discrepancy between the originally published GEp-II results and more recent measurements at higher Q2 motivated a new analysis of the GEp-II data. This article presents the final results of the GEp-II experiment, including details of the new analysis, an expanded description of the apparatus and an overview of theoretical progress since the original publication. The key result of the final analysis is a systematic increase in the results for R, improving the consistency of the polarization transfer data in the high-Q2 region. This increase is the result of an improved selection of elastic events which largely removes the systematic effect of the inelastic contamination, underestimated by the original analysis.