Asymptotic behavior of the deuteron form factors in the two-nucleon model and electron scattering experiments at GeV energies at JLab

Abstract

Using the instant form dynamics of Poincar\'e invariant quantum mechanics and the modified relativistic impulse approximation proposed previously, we calculate asymptotic behavior of electromagnetic form factors for the deuteron considered as a two-nucleon system. We show that today, experimentation on elastic $\mathit{ed}$ scattering has reached the asymptotic regime. We also estimate the possible range of momentum transfer in which the quark degrees of freedom will possibly be seen in future JLab experiments. The explicit relation between the behavior of the deuteron wave function at $r=0$ and the form factors asymptotic behavior is obtained, and the conditions of wave functions that give the asymptotic behavior predicted by QCD and quark counting rules are formulated.