Measurement of the Neutron (3He) Spin Structure at Low Q2 and the Extended Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Sum Rule
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
This thesis presents the results of E-94010, an experiment at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) designed to study the spin structure of the neutron at low momentum transfer, and to test the “extended” Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule. The first experiment of its kind, it was performed in experimental Hall-A of TJNAF using a new polarized 3He facility. It has recently been shown that the GDH sum rule and the Bjorken sum rule are both special examples of a more general sum rule that applies to polarized electron scattering off nucleons. This generalized sum rule, due to Ji and Osborne, reduces to the GDH sum rule at Q2 = 0 and to the Bjorken sum rule at Q2 >> 1 GeV2. By studying the Q2 evolution of the extended GDH sum, one learns about the transition from quark-like behavior to hadronic-like behavior. We measured inclusive polarized cross sections by scattering high energy polarized electrons off the new TJNAF polarized 3He target with both longitudinal and transverse target orientations. The high density 3He target, based on optical pumping and spin exchange, was used as an effective neutron target. The target maintained a polarization of about 35% at beam currents as high as 151tA. We describe the precision 3He polarimetry leading to a systematic uncertainty of the target polarization of 4% (relative). A strained GaAs photocathode was utilized in the polarized electron gun, which provided an electron beam with a polarization of about 70%, known to 3% (relative). By using six different beam energies (between 0.86 and 5.06 GeV) and a fixed scattering angle of 15.5°, a wide kinematic coverage was achieved, with 0.02 GeV2< Q2 <1 GcV2 and 0.5 GeV< W < 2.5 GeV for the squared momentum transfer and invariant mass, respectively. From the measured cross sections we extract the 3He spin structure functions g$$3 He\atop{1}$$ and g$$3 He\atop{2}$$He Finally, we determine the extended GDH sum for the range 0.1 GeV2< Q2 <1 GeV2 for 3He and the neutron.
- Research Organization:
- Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84ER40150
- OSTI ID:
- 917019
- Report Number(s):
- JLAB-PHY-01-109; DOE/ER/40150-4351; TRN: US200816%%229
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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