Inclusive electron scattering from nuclear targets has been measured to extract the nuclear dependence of the inelastic cross section (σA) in Hall C at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator facility. Results are presented for H2, He3, He4, B9, C12, Cu63, and Au197 at an incident electron beam energy of 5.77 GeV for a range of momentum transfer from Q2 = 2 to 7 (GeV/c)2. These data improve the precision of the existing measurements of the EMC effect in the nuclear targets at large x and allow for more detailed examinations of the A dependence of the EMC effect.

We present extractions of the nucleon nonsinglet moments utilizing new precision data on the deuteron F_{2} structure function at large Bjorken-x determined via the Rosenbluth separation technique at Jefferson Lab Experimental Hall C. These new data are combined with a complementary set of data on the proton previously measured in Hall C at similar kinematics and world datasets on the proton and deuteron at lower x measured at SLAC and CERN. The new Jefferson Lab data provide coverage of the upper third of the x range, crucial for precision determination of the higher moments. In contrast to previous extractions, these moments have been corrected for nuclear effects in the deuteron using a new global fit to the deuteron and proton data. The obtained experimental moments represent an order of magnitude improvement in precision over previous extractions using high x data. Moreover, recent exciting developments in lattice QCD calculations provide a first ever comparison of these new experimental results with calculations of moments carried out at the physical pion mass, as well as a new approach that first calculates the quark distributions directly before determining moments.

The H1(e,e′K+)Λ reaction was studied as a function of the Mandelstam variable -t using data from the E01-004 (FPI-2) and E93-018 experiments that were carried out in Hall C at the 6 GeV Jefferson Laboratory. The cross section was fully separated into longitudinal and transverse components, and two interference terms at four-momentum transfers Q2 of 1.00, 1.36, and 2.07GeV2. The kaon form factor was extracted from the longitudinal cross section using the Regge model by Vanderhaeghen et al. [Phys. Rev. C 57, 1454 (1998)PRVCAN0556-281310.1103/PhysRevC.57.1454]. The results establish the method, previously used successfully for pion analyses, for extracting the kaon form factor. Data from 12 GeV Jefferson Laboratory experiments are expected to have sufficient precision to distinguish between theoretical predictions, for example, recent perturbative QCD calculations with modern parton distribution amplitudes. The leading-twist behavior for light mesons is predicted to set in for values of Q2 between 5 and 10GeV2, which makes data in the few-GeV regime particularly interesting. The Q2 dependence at fixed x and -t of the longitudinal cross section that we extracted seems consistent with the QCD factorization prediction within the experimental uncertainty.

The nuclear dependence of the inclusive inelastic electron scattering cross section (the EMC effect) has been measured for the first time in B10 and B11. Previous measurements of the EMC effect in A≤12 nuclei showed an unexpected nuclear dependence; B10 and B11 were measured to explore the EMC effect in this region in more detail. Results are presented for Be9, B10, B11, and C12 at an incident beam energy of 10.6 GeV. The EMC effect in the boron isotopes was found to be similar to that for Be9 and C12, yielding almost no nuclear dependence in the EMC effect in the range A=4-12. This represents important new data supporting the hypothesis that the EMC effect depends primarily on the local nuclear environment due to the cluster structure of these nuclei.

Structure functions, as measured in lepton-nucleon scattering, have proven to be very useful in studying the partonic dynamics within the nucleon. However, it is experimentally difficult to separately determine the longitudinal and transverse structure functions, and consequently there are substantially less data available in particular for the longitudinal structure function. Here, we present separated structure functions for hydrogen and deuterium at low four-momentum transfer squared, Q2<1GeV2, and compare them with parton distribution parametrization and kT factorization approaches. While differences are found, the parametrizations generally agree with the data, even at the very low-Q2 scale of the data. The deuterium data show a smaller longitudinal structure function and a smaller ratio of longitudinal to transverse cross section, R, than the proton. This suggests either an unexpected difference in R for the proton and the neutron or a suppression of the gluonic distribution in nuclei.

We report on a detailed study of longitudinal strength in the nucleon resonance region, presenting new results from inclusive electron-proton cross sections measured at Jefferson Lab Hall C in the four-momentum transfer range 0.2

Background: The electromagnetic form factors of the proton measured by unpolarized and polarized electron scattering experiments show a significant disagreement that grows with the squared four-momentum transfer (Q2). Calculations have shown that the two measurements can be largely reconciled by accounting for the contributions of two-photon exchange (TPE). TPE effects are not typically included in the standard set of radiative corrections since theoretical calculations of the TPE effects are highly model dependent, and, until recently, no direct evidence of significant TPE effects has been observed. Purpose: We measured the ratio of positron-proton to electron-proton elastic-scattering cross sections in order to determine the TPE contribution to elastic electron-proton scattering and thereby resolve the proton electric form factor discrepancy. Methods: We produced a mixed simultaneous electron-positron beam in Jefferson Lab's Hall B by passing the 5.6-GeV primary electron beam through a radiator to produce a bremsstrahlung photon beam and then passing the photon beam through a convertor to produce electron-positron pairs. The mixed electron-positron (lepton) beam with useful energies from approximately 0.85 to 3.5 GeV then struck a 30-cm-long liquid hydrogen (LH2) target located within the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). By detecting both the scattered leptons and the recoiling protons, we identified and reconstructed elastic scattering events and determined the incident lepton energy. A detailed description of the experiment is presented. Results: We present previously unpublished results for the quantity R2γ, the TPE correction to the elastic-scattering cross section, at Q2≈0.85 and 1.45 GeV2 over a large range of virtual photon polarization ?. Conclusions: Our results, along with recently published results from VEPP-3, demonstrate a nonzero contribution from TPE effects and are in excellent agreement with the calculations that include TPE effects and largely reconcile the form-factor discrepancy up to Q2≈2GeV2. These data are consistent with an increase in R2γ with decreasing ? at Q2≈0.85 and 1.45 GeV2. There are indications of a slight increase in R2γ with Q2.

Positron beams, both polarized and unpolarized, are identified as essential ingredients for the experimental programs at the next generation of lepton accelerators. In the context of the hadronic physics program at Jefferson Lab (JLab), positron beams are complementary, even essential, tools for a precise understanding of the electromagnetic structure of nucleons and nuclei, in both the elastic and deep-inelastic regimes. For instance, elastic scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons from the nucleon enables a model independent determination of its electromagnetic form factors. Also, the deeply-virtual scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons allows unambiguous separation of the different contributions to the cross section of the lepto-production of photons and of lepton-pairs, enabling an accurate determination of the nucleons and nuclei generalized parton distributions, and providing an access to the gravitational form factors. Furthermore, positron beams offer the possibility of alternative tests of the Standard Model of particle physics through the search of a dark photon, the precise measurement of electroweak couplings, and the investigation of charged lepton flavor violation. This document discusses the perspectives of an experimental program with high duty-cycle positron beams at JLab.

Positron beams, both polarized and unpolarized, are identified as important ingredients for the experimental programs at the next generation of lepton accelerators. In the context of the hadronic physics program at Jefferson Lab (JLab), positron beams are complementary, even essential, tools for a precise understanding of the electromagnetic structure of nucleons and nuclei, in both the elastic and deep-inelastic regimes. For instance, elastic scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons from the nucleon enables a model independent determination of its electromagnetic form factors. Also, the deeply-virtual scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons allows unambiguous separation of the different contributions to the cross section of the lepto-production of photons and of lepton-pairs, enabling an accurate determination of the nucleons and nuclei generalized parton distributions, and providing an access to the gravitational form factors of the energy-momentum tensor. Furthermore, positron beams offer the possibility of alternative tests of the Standard Model of particle physics through the search of a dark photon, the precise measurement of electroweak couplings, and the investigation of charged lepton flavor violation. This document discusses the perspectives of an experimental program with high duty-cycle positron beams at JLab.