A precise measurement of the deuteron elastic structure function A(Q^2)

Abstract

The A(Q^2) structure function in elastic electron-deuteron scattering was measured at six momentum transfers Q^2 between 0.66 and 1.80 (GeV/c)^2 in Hall C at Jefferson Laboratory. The scattered electrons and recoil deuterons were detected in coincidence, at a fixed deuteron angle of 60.5 degrees. These new precise measurements resolve discrepancies between older sets of data. They put significant constraints on existing models of the deuteron electromagnetic structure, and on the strength of isoscalar meson exchange currents.