Deuteron Magnetic Dipole Disintegration by 180° Electron Scattering

Gerald Alvin Peterson, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
W C. Barber, Stanford University

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DOI:10.1103/PhysRev.128.812 Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (cc-BY)

Abstract

The magnetic dipole disintegration of the deuteron has been measured for excitation energies up to 16 MeV in the presence of relatively small electric multipole contributions by using a method of inelastic electron scattering at 180°. Electrons of initial energy 41.5 MeV were magnetically deflected before and after scattering so that those scattered at 180° entered a magnetic spectrometer set at 160° with respect to the incident beam. The experimental cross sections measured relative to elastic scattering from the proton are higher than predicted by the electrodisintegration theory of Jankus. The discrepancy may be an indication of mesonic exchange currents which are not included in the Jankus theory.