An investigation of the influence of scaling laws on the ration of neutron-proton charge form factor calculations

Abstract

An investigation of conventional and broken -symmetry scaling, and their effect on the ratio of the neutron-proton electric form factors, G^ /G„ , was carried out using measurements from elastic En Ep electr on-deuter on and electron-proton scattering in the range of 2 2 -2 momentum transfers, q , of O.lO^q ^0.80 F , and electron scattering angles of 45 to 120 . Within experimental errors of available data in this range of momentum transfers and angles, it was concluded that both forms of scaling as applied to the deuteron form factor have negigible effect on the ratio G„ /G^ , and the En Ep application of either scaling law to the proton form factor results in nearly identical corrections to this ratio, thus allowing no distinction between them, and the agreement of the experimental 2 data with the neutron-electron interaction slope at q — is not influenced by the choice of scaling lav/. A conclusive test for the scaling laws would require an improvement in experimental accuracy by at least an order of magnitude, a technically nearly impossible requirement.