Measurement of the Nucleon F2n / F2p Structure Function Ratio by the Jefferson Lab MARATHON Tritium/Helium-3 Deep Inelastic Scattering Experiment

(Jefferson Lab Hall A Tritium Collaboration)

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34 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ratio of the nucleon F2 structure functions, F2n/F2p, is determined by the MARATHON experiment from measurements of deep inelastic scattering of electrons from H3 and He3 nuclei. The experiment was performed in the Hall A Facility of Jefferson Lab using two high-resolution spectrometers for electron detection, and a cryogenic target system which included a low-activity tritium cell. The data analysis used a novel technique exploiting the mirror symmetry of the two nuclei, which essentially eliminates many theoretical uncertainties in the extraction of the ratio. The results, which cover the Bjorken scaling variable range 0.19<x<0.83, represent a significant improvement compared to previous SLAC and Jefferson Lab measurements for the ratio. They are compared to recent theoretical calculations and empirical determinations of the F2n/F2p ratio.

Original languageEnglish
Article number132003
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume128
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2022

Funding

FundersFunder number
Kent State University Research Council
National Science FoundationNSF-PHY-1405814, NSF-PHY-1714809
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Nuclear PhysicsDE-AC02-05CH11231, DE-AC02-06CH11357, DE-AC05-06OR23177, DE-SC0016577
Israel Science Foundation136/12, 1334/16
Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
PAZY Foundation

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