Periodic Interference Structures in the Timelike Proton Form Factor

An intriguing and elusive feature of the timelike hadron form factor is the possible presence of an imaginary part associated to rescattering processes. We find evidence of that in the recent and precise data on the proton timelike form factor measured by the BABAR Collaboration. By plotting these d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2015-06, Vol.114 (23), p.232301-232301, Article 232301
Main Authors: Bianconi, Andrea, Tomasi-Gustafsson, Egle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antiprotons
Cooperation
Form factors
Forming
Hadrons
Interference
Modulation
Plotting
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Summary:An intriguing and elusive feature of the timelike hadron form factor is the possible presence of an imaginary part associated to rescattering processes. We find evidence of that in the recent and precise data on the proton timelike form factor measured by the BABAR Collaboration. By plotting these data as a function of the 3-momentum of the relative motion of the final proton and antiproton, a systematic sinusoidal modulation is highlighted in the near-threshold region. Our analysis attributes this pattern to rescattering processes at a relative distance of 0.7-1.5 fm between the centers of the forming hadrons. This distance implies a large fraction of inelastic processes in pp interactions, and a large imaginary part in the related e(+)e(-)→pp reaction because of unitarity.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.114.232301