Parton Distributions for Low Q^2

Abstract

We extend the MRS(A) set of parton distributions, which provides an up-to-date description of the structure of the proton probed by hard interactions, into the region of $Q^2$ below $5\ {\rm GeV}^2$. After physically-motivated modifications, we obtain a smooth description of the data on the structure function $F_2(x,Q^2)$ all the way from $Q^2 = 10^{-1}$ to $10^3\ {\rm GeV}^2$.