The contribution of two-photon exchange in elastic lepton-proton scattering

Abstract

Measurements of the electric-to-magnetic ratio of the proton's elastic form factors, GE/GM, have recently been shown to diverge at high momentum transfer, Q2, based on which of two experimental methods is employed. Reanalysis of all results might be able to bring them into agreement if some previously neglected correction were introduced whose magnitude increases with Q2. In the high-energy community, two-photon exchange has become the favored candidate for such a correction. But theoretical models disagree on the size and form of a two-photon exchange correction term entering into elastic lepton-proton scattering and existent empirical data is not sufficiently precise to settle the matter. OLYMPUS is one of several new experiments designed to evaluate R2[gamma], the ratio of the elastic cross sections for positron-proton and electron-proton scattering, whose difference from unity provides a direct measure of the amplitude of the two-photon exchange matrix elements. In this dissertation, OLYMPUS is considered from its motivation, construction, and operation to its analysis, along with the associated Monte Carlo simulation. Special attention is given to the symmetric Møller/Bhabha detector system, which is not described in full elsewhere. The results achieved by the OLYMPUS collaboration, reported herein, achieve unprecedented precision over a wide kinematic range and make a significant contribution to the understanding of two-photon exchange.