DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the neutron

Abstract

The three-dimensional structure of nucleons (protons and neutrons) is embedded in so-called generalized parton distributions, which are accessible from deeply virtual Compton scattering. In this process, a high-energy electron is scattered off a nucleon by exchanging a virtual photon. Then, a highly energetic real photon is emitted from one of the quarks inside the nucleon, which carries information on the quark's transverse position and longitudinal momentum. By measuring the cross-section of deeply virtual Compton scattering, Compton form factors related to the generalized parton distributions can be extracted. Here, we report the observation of unpolarized deeply virtual Compton scattering off a deuterium target. From the measured photon-electroproduction cross-sections, we have extracted the cross-section of a quasifree neutron and a coherent deuteron. Due to the approximate isospin symmetry of quantum chromodynamics, we can determine the contributions from the different quark flavours to the helicity-conserved Compton form factors by combining our measurements with previous ones probing the proton's internal structure. These results advance our understanding of the description of the nucleon structure, which is important to solve the proton spin puzzle. The internal structure of the neutron has now been probed by highly energetic photons scattering off it. Combined with previous results formore » protons, these measurements reveal the contributions of quark flavours to the nucleon structure.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo more »; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ORCiD logo; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
National Science Foundation (NSF); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique (CEA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
Contributing Org.:
The Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration; Hall A Collaboration
OSTI Identifier:
1603311
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1639700
Report Number(s):
JLAB-PHY-20-3225; DOE-OR-23177-5005
Journal ID: ISSN 1745-2473; 147594; TRN: US2104087
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357; AC05-06OR23177
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 16; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 1745-2473
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS

Citation Formats

Benali, M., Desnault, C., Mazouz, M., Ahmed, Z., Albataineh, H., Allada, K., Aniol, K. A., Bellini, V., Boeglin, W., Bertin, P., Brossard, M., Camsonne, A., Canan, M., Chandavar, S., Chen, C., Chen, J. -P., Defurne, M., de Jager, C. W., de Leo, R., Deur, A., El Fassi, L., Ent, R., Flay, D., Friend, M., Fuchey, E., Frullani, S., Garibaldi, F., Gaskell, D., Giusa, A., Glamazdin, O., Golge, S., Gomez, J., Hansen, O., Higinbotham, D., Holmstrom, T., Horn, T., Huang, J., Huang, M., Huber, G. M., Hyde, C. E., Iqbal, S., Itard, F., Kang, Ho., Kang, Hy., Kelleher, A., Keppel, C., Koirala, S., Korover, I., LeRose, J. J., Lindgren, R., Long, E., Magne, M., Mammei, J., Margaziotis, D. J., Markowitz, P., Martí Jiménez-Argüello, A., Meddi, F., Meekins, D., Michaels, R., Mihovilovic, M., Muangma, N., Muñoz Camacho, C., Nadel-Turonski, P., Nuruzzaman, N., Paremuzyan, R., Pomatsalyuk, R., Puckett, A., Punjabi, V., Qiang, Y., Rakhman, A., Rashad, M. N. H., Riordan, S., Roche, J., Russo, G., Sabatié, F., Saenboonruang, K., Saha, A., Sawatzky, B., Selvy, L., Shahinyan, A., Sirca, S., Solvignon, P., Sperduto, M. L., Subedi, R., Sulkosky, V., Sutera, C., Tobias, W. A., Urciuoli, G. M., Wang, D., Wojtsekhowski, B., Yao, H., Ye, Z., Zana, L., Zhan, X., Zhang, J., Zhao, B., Zhao, Z., Zheng, X., and Zhu, P. Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the neutron. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1038/s41567-019-0774-3.
Benali, M., Desnault, C., Mazouz, M., Ahmed, Z., Albataineh, H., Allada, K., Aniol, K. A., Bellini, V., Boeglin, W., Bertin, P., Brossard, M., Camsonne, A., Canan, M., Chandavar, S., Chen, C., Chen, J. -P., Defurne, M., de Jager, C. W., de Leo, R., Deur, A., El Fassi, L., Ent, R., Flay, D., Friend, M., Fuchey, E., Frullani, S., Garibaldi, F., Gaskell, D., Giusa, A., Glamazdin, O., Golge, S., Gomez, J., Hansen, O., Higinbotham, D., Holmstrom, T., Horn, T., Huang, J., Huang, M., Huber, G. M., Hyde, C. E., Iqbal, S., Itard, F., Kang, Ho., Kang, Hy., Kelleher, A., Keppel, C., Koirala, S., Korover, I., LeRose, J. J., Lindgren, R., Long, E., Magne, M., Mammei, J., Margaziotis, D. J., Markowitz, P., Martí Jiménez-Argüello, A., Meddi, F., Meekins, D., Michaels, R., Mihovilovic, M., Muangma, N., Muñoz Camacho, C., Nadel-Turonski, P., Nuruzzaman, N., Paremuzyan, R., Pomatsalyuk, R., Puckett, A., Punjabi, V., Qiang, Y., Rakhman, A., Rashad, M. N. H., Riordan, S., Roche, J., Russo, G., Sabatié, F., Saenboonruang, K., Saha, A., Sawatzky, B., Selvy, L., Shahinyan, A., Sirca, S., Solvignon, P., Sperduto, M. L., Subedi, R., Sulkosky, V., Sutera, C., Tobias, W. A., Urciuoli, G. M., Wang, D., Wojtsekhowski, B., Yao, H., Ye, Z., Zana, L., Zhan, X., Zhang, J., Zhao, B., Zhao, Z., Zheng, X., & Zhu, P. Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the neutron. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0774-3
Benali, M., Desnault, C., Mazouz, M., Ahmed, Z., Albataineh, H., Allada, K., Aniol, K. A., Bellini, V., Boeglin, W., Bertin, P., Brossard, M., Camsonne, A., Canan, M., Chandavar, S., Chen, C., Chen, J. -P., Defurne, M., de Jager, C. W., de Leo, R., Deur, A., El Fassi, L., Ent, R., Flay, D., Friend, M., Fuchey, E., Frullani, S., Garibaldi, F., Gaskell, D., Giusa, A., Glamazdin, O., Golge, S., Gomez, J., Hansen, O., Higinbotham, D., Holmstrom, T., Horn, T., Huang, J., Huang, M., Huber, G. M., Hyde, C. E., Iqbal, S., Itard, F., Kang, Ho., Kang, Hy., Kelleher, A., Keppel, C., Koirala, S., Korover, I., LeRose, J. J., Lindgren, R., Long, E., Magne, M., Mammei, J., Margaziotis, D. J., Markowitz, P., Martí Jiménez-Argüello, A., Meddi, F., Meekins, D., Michaels, R., Mihovilovic, M., Muangma, N., Muñoz Camacho, C., Nadel-Turonski, P., Nuruzzaman, N., Paremuzyan, R., Pomatsalyuk, R., Puckett, A., Punjabi, V., Qiang, Y., Rakhman, A., Rashad, M. N. H., Riordan, S., Roche, J., Russo, G., Sabatié, F., Saenboonruang, K., Saha, A., Sawatzky, B., Selvy, L., Shahinyan, A., Sirca, S., Solvignon, P., Sperduto, M. L., Subedi, R., Sulkosky, V., Sutera, C., Tobias, W. A., Urciuoli, G. M., Wang, D., Wojtsekhowski, B., Yao, H., Ye, Z., Zana, L., Zhan, X., Zhang, J., Zhao, B., Zhao, Z., Zheng, X., and Zhu, P. Mon . "Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the neutron". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0774-3. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1603311.
@article{osti_1603311,
title = {Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the neutron},
author = {Benali, M. and Desnault, C. and Mazouz, M. and Ahmed, Z. and Albataineh, H. and Allada, K. and Aniol, K. A. and Bellini, V. and Boeglin, W. and Bertin, P. and Brossard, M. and Camsonne, A. and Canan, M. and Chandavar, S. and Chen, C. and Chen, J. -P. and Defurne, M. and de Jager, C. W. and de Leo, R. and Deur, A. and El Fassi, L. and Ent, R. and Flay, D. and Friend, M. and Fuchey, E. and Frullani, S. and Garibaldi, F. and Gaskell, D. and Giusa, A. and Glamazdin, O. and Golge, S. and Gomez, J. and Hansen, O. and Higinbotham, D. and Holmstrom, T. and Horn, T. and Huang, J. and Huang, M. and Huber, G. M. and Hyde, C. E. and Iqbal, S. and Itard, F. and Kang, Ho. and Kang, Hy. and Kelleher, A. and Keppel, C. and Koirala, S. and Korover, I. and LeRose, J. J. and Lindgren, R. and Long, E. and Magne, M. and Mammei, J. and Margaziotis, D. J. and Markowitz, P. and Martí Jiménez-Argüello, A. and Meddi, F. and Meekins, D. and Michaels, R. and Mihovilovic, M. and Muangma, N. and Muñoz Camacho, C. and Nadel-Turonski, P. and Nuruzzaman, N. and Paremuzyan, R. and Pomatsalyuk, R. and Puckett, A. and Punjabi, V. and Qiang, Y. and Rakhman, A. and Rashad, M. N. H. and Riordan, S. and Roche, J. and Russo, G. and Sabatié, F. and Saenboonruang, K. and Saha, A. and Sawatzky, B. and Selvy, L. and Shahinyan, A. and Sirca, S. and Solvignon, P. and Sperduto, M. L. and Subedi, R. and Sulkosky, V. and Sutera, C. and Tobias, W. A. and Urciuoli, G. M. and Wang, D. and Wojtsekhowski, B. and Yao, H. and Ye, Z. and Zana, L. and Zhan, X. and Zhang, J. and Zhao, B. and Zhao, Z. and Zheng, X. and Zhu, P.},
abstractNote = {The three-dimensional structure of nucleons (protons and neutrons) is embedded in so-called generalized parton distributions, which are accessible from deeply virtual Compton scattering. In this process, a high-energy electron is scattered off a nucleon by exchanging a virtual photon. Then, a highly energetic real photon is emitted from one of the quarks inside the nucleon, which carries information on the quark's transverse position and longitudinal momentum. By measuring the cross-section of deeply virtual Compton scattering, Compton form factors related to the generalized parton distributions can be extracted. Here, we report the observation of unpolarized deeply virtual Compton scattering off a deuterium target. From the measured photon-electroproduction cross-sections, we have extracted the cross-section of a quasifree neutron and a coherent deuteron. Due to the approximate isospin symmetry of quantum chromodynamics, we can determine the contributions from the different quark flavours to the helicity-conserved Compton form factors by combining our measurements with previous ones probing the proton's internal structure. These results advance our understanding of the description of the nucleon structure, which is important to solve the proton spin puzzle. The internal structure of the neutron has now been probed by highly energetic photons scattering off it. Combined with previous results for protons, these measurements reveal the contributions of quark flavours to the nucleon structure.},
doi = {10.1038/s41567-019-0774-3},
journal = {Nature Physics},
number = 2,
volume = 16,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Mon Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 13 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

QED radiative corrections to virtual Compton scattering
journal, July 2000


Rosenbluth Separation of the π 0 Electroproduction Cross Section Off the Neutron
journal, June 2017


New parton distribution functions from a global analysis of quantum chromodynamics
journal, February 2016


Flexible parametrization of generalized parton distributions: The chiral-odd sector
journal, June 2015

  • Goldstein, Gary R.; Hernandez, J. Osvaldo Gonzalez; Liuti, Simonetta
  • Physical Review D, Vol. 91, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.114013

Single-spin asymmetries: The Trento conventions
text, January 2004

  • Bacchetta, Alessandro; D'Alesio, Umberto; Diehl, Markus
  • Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, DESY, Hamburg
  • DOI: 10.3204/pubdb-2017-04959

The spin structure of the nucleon
journal, January 2005

  • Kabuss, Eva-Maria
  • Czechoslovak Journal of Physics, Vol. 55, Issue S1
  • DOI: 10.1007/bf03031986

Measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA
journal, October 2003


Measurement of double-spin asymmetries associated with deeply virtual Compton scattering on a transversely polarized hydrogen target
journal, October 2011


Deeply virtual electroproduction of photons and mesons on the nucleon: Leading order amplitudes and power corrections
journal, October 1999


Interpretation of the flavor dependence of nucleon form factors in a generalized parton distribution model
journal, December 2013

  • Gonzalez-Hernandez, J. Osvaldo; Liuti, Simonetta; Goldstein, Gary R.
  • Physical Review C, Vol. 88, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.88.065206

Deeply virtual Compton scattering to the twist-four accuracy: Impact of finite- t and target mass corrections
journal, April 2014


Gauge-Invariant Decomposition of Nucleon Spin
journal, January 1997


Measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering and its t-dependence at HERA
journal, January 2008


Factorization for hard exclusive electroproduction of mesons in QCD
journal, September 1997


Deep electroproduction of photons and mesons on the deuteron
journal, March 2004


Strange nucleon form-factors
journal, July 2017


A glimpse of gluons through deeply virtual compton scattering on the proton
journal, November 2017


Exclusive electroproduction revisited: Treating kinematical effects
journal, October 2010


The spin structure of the nucleon
journal, January 1994


Measurement of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering with a Polarized-Proton Target
journal, August 2006


Cross Sections for the Exclusive Photon Electroproduction on the Proton and Generalized Parton Distributions
journal, November 2015


Single-spin asymmetries: The Trento conventions
journal, December 2004


Helicity-flip off-forward parton distributions of the nucleon
journal, July 1998


Measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA
journal, September 2001


Pion production in deeply virtual Compton scattering
journal, August 2003


Observation of Exclusive Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering in Polarized Electron Beam Asymmetry Measurements
journal, October 2001


Measurement of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering Beam-Spin Asymmetries
journal, April 2008


Measurement of the Beam-Spin Azimuthal Asymmetry Associated with Deeply-Virtual Compton Scattering
journal, October 2001


Wave Functions, Evolution Equations and Evolution Kernels from Light-Ray Operators of QCD
journal, January 1994

  • Müller, D.; Robaschik, D.; Geyer, B.
  • Fortschritte der Physik/Progress of Physics, Vol. 42, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/prop.2190420202

E00-110 experiment at Jefferson Lab Hall A: Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the proton at 6 GeV
journal, November 2015


Testing the handbag contribution to exclusive virtual Compton scattering
journal, October 1997


Beam spin asymmetries in deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) with CLAS at 4.8 GeV
journal, September 2009


Nonforward parton distributions
journal, November 1997


Hard exclusive reactions and the structure of hadrons
journal, January 2001


The spin structure of the nucleon
journal, April 2013

  • Aidala, Christine A.; Bass, Steven D.; Hasch, Delia
  • Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 85, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1103/RevModPhys.85.655

Generalized parton distributions
journal, December 2003


Hard Electroproduction of Photons and Mesons on the Nucleon
journal, June 1998


One-loop corrections and all order factorization in deeply virtual Compton scattering
journal, September 1998


Deeply virtual Compton scattering and its beam charge asymmetry in <mml:math altimg="si1.gif" overflow="scroll" xmlns:xocs="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/xocs/dtd" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/ja/dtd" xmlns:ja="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/ja/dtd" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:tb="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/common/table/dtd" xmlns:sb="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/common/struct-bib/dtd" xmlns:ce="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/common/dtd" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:cals="http://www.elsevier.com/xml/common/cals/dtd"><mml:msup><mml:mi>e</mml:mi><mml:mo>±</mml:mo></mml:msup><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math> collisions at HERA
journal, November 2009


Deeply virtual Compton scattering off nuclei
journal, January 2003


Basic instrumentation for Hall A at Jefferson Lab
journal, April 2004

  • Alcorn, J.; Anderson, B. D.; Aniol, K. A.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 522, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.415

Deep inelastic scattering: The early years
journal, July 1991


Gauge-invariant decomposition of nucleon spin
journal, May 2011


Flexible parametrization of generalized parton distributions from deeply virtual Compton scattering observables
journal, August 2011

  • Goldstein, Gary R.; Hernandez, J. Osvaldo Gonzalez; Liuti, Simonetta
  • Physical Review D, Vol. 84, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.84.034007

Impact Parameter Space Interpretation for Generalized Parton Distributions
journal, January 2003


Beam-charge azimuthal asymmetry and deeply virtual Compton scattering
journal, January 2007


Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering off the Neutron
journal, December 2007


Generalized Parton Distributions
conference, January 2007

  • Avakian, H.
  • Proceedings of the 17th International Spin Physics Symposium, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.2750745

Measurement of the beam spin azimuthal asymmetry associated with deeply virtual Compton scattering
text, January 2001


Measurement of unpolarized and polarized cross sections for deeply virtual Compton scattering on the proton at Jefferson Laboratory with CLAS
journal, October 2018


Compton scattering: From deeply virtual to quasi-real
journal, January 2014


The Spin Structure of the Nucleon
conference, November 2011

  • Mallot, Gerhard K.
  • Proceedings of the XIX International Symposium, Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies
  • DOI: 10.1142/9789812793942_0028

Measurement of the Beam-Spin Azimuthal Asymmetry Associated with Deeply-Virtual Compton Scattering
text, January 2001


Observation of Exclusive Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering in Polarized Electron Beam Asymmetry Measurements
text, January 2001


Measurement of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering at HERA
text, January 2002


Measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA
text, January 2005


Measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering and its t-dependence at HERA
text, January 2008


The Spin Structure of the Nucleon
text, January 2012


The Beam--Charge Azimuthal Asymmetry and Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering
text, January 2006


QED radiative corrections to virtual Compton scattering
text, January 2000


Hard Exclusive Reactions and the Structure of Hadrons
text, January 2001


Deeply virtual Compton scattering off nuclei
text, January 2003


Pion production in deeply virtual Compton scattering
text, January 2003


Generalized Parton Distributions
text, January 2003


Single-spin asymmetries: the Trento conventions
text, January 2004


Factorization for hard exclusive electroproduction of mesons in QCD
text, January 1996


Nonforward Parton Distributions
text, January 1997