Neutron properties in the medium

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 103; no. 8; p. 082301
• Main Authors: Cloët, I C, Miller, Gerald A, Piasetzky, E, Ron, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 21-08-2009
• Subjects: BARYONS; BEAMS; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS; CROSS SECTIONS; DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS; ELECTRIC CHARGES; ELECTRON BEAMS; ELECTRON REACTIONS; ELEMENTARY PARTICLES; EVEN-ODD NUCLEI; FERMIONS; FORM FACTORS; HADRONS; HELIUM 3; HELIUM 4 TARGET; HELIUM ISOTOPES; HYDROGEN ISOTOPES; ISOTOPES; LEPTON BEAMS; LEPTON REACTIONS; LIGHT NUCLEI; MOMENTUM TRANSFER; NEUTRONS; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; NUCLEAR REACTIONS; NUCLEI; NUCLEONS; ODD-EVEN NUCLEI; PARTICLE BEAMS; PARTICLE PROPERTIES; POLARIZED BEAMS; PROTONS; RADIOISOTOPES; STABLE ISOTOPES; TARGETS; TRITIUM; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
• ISSN: 0031-9007; 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.082301

We demonstrate that for small values of momentum transfer Q2 the in-medium change of the GE/GM form factor ratio for a bound neutron is dominated by the change in the electric charge radius and predict within stated assumptions that the in-medium ratio will increase relative to the free result. This effect will act to increase the predicted cross section for the neutron recoil polarization transfer process 4He(e-vector,e'n-vector)3He. This is in contrast with medium modification effects on the proton GE/GM form factor ratio, which act to decrease the predicted cross section for the 4He(e-vector,e'p-vector)3H reaction. Experiments to measure the in-medium neutron form factors are currently feasible in the range 0.1<Q2<1 GeV2.