arXiv · 1503.02140
Periodic interference structures in the time-like proton form factor
Abstract
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 $\bar{p}p$ interactions, and a large imaginary part in the related $e^+e^- \rightarrow \bar{p}p$ reaction because of unitarity.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Andrea Bianconi, Egle Tomasi-Gustafsson. 2015-03-07. Periodic interference structures in the time-like proton form factor. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.114.232301
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.