Form Factors In Time-like Region Research Articles

Proton electromagnetic form factors: present status and future perspectives at PANDA

Data and models on electromagnetic proton form factors are reviewed, highlighting the contribution foreseen by the PANDA collaboration. Electromagnetic hadron form factors contain essential information on the internal structure of hadrons. Precise and surprising data have been obtained at electron accelerators, applying the polarization method in electron-proton elastic scattering. At electron-positron colliders, using initial state radiation, BABAR measured proton time-like form factors in a wide time-like kinematical region and the BESIII collaboration will measure very precisely proton and neutron form factors in the threshold region. In the next future an antiproton beam with momentum up to 15 GeV/c will be available at FAIR (Darmstadt). Measurements of the reaction p̅ + p -> e^+ + e^- by the PANDA collaboration will contribute to the individual determination of electric and magnetic form factors in the time-like region of momentum transfer squared, as well as to their first determination in the unphysical region (below the kinematical threshold), through the reaction p̅ + p -> e^+ + e^- + pi^0. From the discussion on feasibility studies at PANDA, we focus on the consequences of such measurements in view of an unified description of form factors in the full kinematical region. We present models which have the necessary analytical requirements and apply to the data in the whole kinematical region.

Asymptotic behavior of nucleon electromagnetic form factors in time-like region

We study the asymptotic behavior of the ratio of Pauli and Dirac electromagnetic nucleon form factors, $F_2/F_1$, in time-like region for different parametrizations built for the space-like region. We investigate how fast the ratio $F_2/F_1$ approaches the asymptotic limits according to the Phragm\`en-Lindel\"of theorem. We show that the QCD-inspired logarithmic behavior of this ratio results in very far asymptotics, experimentally unachievable. This is also confirmed by the normal component of the nucleon polarization, $P_y$, in $e^++e^-\to N+\bar{N}$ (in collisions of unpolarized leptons), which is a very interesting observable, with respect to this theorem. Finally we observe that the 1/Q parametrization of $F_2/F_1$ contradicts this theorem.