A measurement of αs and of higher twists from a QCD analysis of high statistics F2 data on hydrogen and deuterium targets

Abstract

We compare the Q 2-dependence of the highest statistics structure function data on free or quasi-free nucleons — from the BCDMS Collaborations and the SLAC experiments — with the predictions of perturbative QCD. An excellent is observed, leading to a precise measurement of the strong interaction coupling contant, α s( M z 2)=0.113±0.005, a measurement of higher-twist terms in the Q 2-evolution of F 2 and an estimate of the gluon distribution in the range 0.07< χ<0.25.