High precision measurement of the proton elastic form factor ratio at low Q²

Abstract

Experiment E08-007 measured the proton elastic form factor ratio [mu]GE/GM in the range of Q2 = 0.3-0.7(GeV/c)2 by recoil polarimetry. Data were taken in 2008 at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia, USA. A 1.2 GeV polarized electron beam was scattered off a cryogenic hydrogen target. The recoil proton was detected in the left HRS in coincidence with the elastically scattered electrons tagged by the BigBite spectrometer. The proton polarization was measured by the focal plane polarimeter (FPP). In this low Q2 region, previous measurement from Jefferson Lab Hall A (LEDEX) along with various fits and calculations indicate substantial deviations of the ratio from unity. For this new measurement, the proposed statistical uncertainty (< 1%) was achieved. These new results are a few percent lower than expected from previous world data and fits, which indicate a smaller GEp at this region. Beyond the intrinsic interest in nucleon structure, the new results also have implications in determining the proton Zemach radius and the strangeness form factors from parity violation experiments.