Quasi-free Compton scattering and the polarizabilities of the neutron

Abstract

Differential cross-sections for quasi-free Compton scattering from the proton and neutron bound in the deuteron have been measured using the Glasgow/Mainz photon tagging spectrometer at the Mainz MAMI accelerator together with the Mainz [48]cm ;SPMOslash; × [64]cm NaI(Tl) photon detector and the Göttingen SENECA recoil detector. The data cover photon energies ranging from [200]MeV to [400]MeV at θLAB γ = 136.2°. Liquid deuterium and hydrogen targets allowed direct comparison of free and quasi-free scattering from the proton. The neutron detection efficiency of the SENECA detector was measured via the reaction p(γ,π+ n). The “free” proton Compton scattering cross-sections extracted from the bound proton data are in reasonable agreement with those for the free proton which gives confidence in the method to extract the differential cross-section for free scattering from quasi-free data. Differential cross-sections on the free neutron have been extracted and the difference of the electromagnetic polarizabilities of the neutron has been determined to be αn - βn = 9.8±3.6(stat)+2.1 -1.1(syst)±2.2(model) in units of [10-4]fm 3. In combination with the polarizability sum αn + βn = 15.2±0.5 deduced from photoabsorption data, the neutron electric and magnetic polarizabilities, αn = 12.5±1.8(stat)+1.1 -0.6(syst)±1.1(model) and βn = 2.7±1.8(stat)+0.6 -1.1(syst)±1.1(model) are obtained. The backward spin polarizability of the neutron was determined to be γ(n) π = (58.6±4.0)×10-4 fm 4.