A Poincar\'e-covariant current operator for interacting systems and deuteron electromagnetic form factors

Abstract

In front-form dynamics a current operator for systems of interacting particles, which fulfills Poincar\'e, parity and time reversal covariance, together with hermiticity, can be defined. The electromagnetic form factors can be extracted without any ambiguity and in the elastic case the continuity equation is automatically satisfied. Applications to the calculation of deuteron form factors are presented, and the effects of different nucleon-nucleon interactions, as well as of different nucleon form factors are investigated.