Experimental Deuteron Momentum Distributions with Reduced Final State Interactions

Abstract

OF THE DISSERTATION EXPERIMENTAL DEUTERON MOMENTUM DISTRIBUTIONS WITH REDUCED FINAL STATE INTERACTIONS by Hari P. Khanal Florida International University, 2014 Miami, Florida Professor Werner U. Boeglin, Major Professor This dissertation presents a study of the D(e, e′p)n reaction carried out at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) for a set of fixed values of fourmomentum transfer Q = 2.1 and 0.8 (GeV/c) and for missing momenta pm ranging from pm = 0.03 to pm = 0.65 GeV/c. The analysis resulted in the determination of absolute D(e, e′p)n cross sections as a function of the recoiling neutron momentum and it’s scattering angle with respect to the momentum transfer ~q. The angular distribution was compared to various modern theoretical predictions that also included final state interactions. The data confirmed the theoretical prediction of a strong anisotropy of final state interaction contributions at Q of 2.1 (GeV/c) while at the lower Q value, the anisotropy was much less pronounced. At Q of 0.8 (GeV/c), theories show a large disagreement with the experimental results. The experimental momentum distribution of the bound proton inside the deuteron has been determined for the first time at a set of fixed neutron recoil angles. The momentum distribution is directly related to the ground state wave function of the deuteron in momentum