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Title: Q{sup 2} Dependence of the Neutron Spin Structure Function g{sub 2}{sup n} at Low Q{sup 2}

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2]; ; ; ; ; ;  [3]
  1. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187 (United States)
  2. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606 (United States)
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); and others

We present the first measurement of the Q{sup 2} dependence of the neutron spin structure function g{sub 2}{sup n} at five kinematic points covering 0.57 (GeV/c){sup 2}{<=}Q{sup 2}{<=}1.34 (GeV/c){sup 2} at x{approx_equal}0.2. Though the naive quark-parton model predicts g{sub 2}=0, nonzero values occur in more realistic models of the nucleon which include quark-gluon correlations, finite quark masses, or orbital angular momentum. When scattering from a noninteracting quark, g{sub 2}{sup n} can be predicted using next-to-leading order fits to world data for g{sub 1}{sup n}. Deviations from this prediction provide an opportunity to examine QCD dynamics in nucleon structure. Our results show a positive deviation from this prediction at lower Q{sup 2}, indicating that contributions such as quark-gluon interactions may be important. Precision data obtained for g{sub 1}{sup n} are consistent with next-to-leading order fits to world data.

OSTI ID:
20696517
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Vol. 95, Issue 14; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.142002; (c) 2005 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English