Precision Measurement of the Neutron Twist-3 Matrix Element d^n_2: Probing Color Forces

Abstract

Double-spin asymmetries and absolute cross sections were measured at large Bjorken x  (0.25≤x≤0.90), in both the deep-inelastic and resonance regions, by scattering longitudinally polarized electrons at beam energies of 4.7 and 5.9 GeV from a transversely and longitudinally polarized ^3He target. In this dedicated experiment, the spin structure function g^3He_2 was determined with precision at large x, and the neutron twist-3 matrix element dn2 was measured at ⟨Q2⟩ of 3.21 and 4.32  GeV^2/c^2, with an absolute precision of about 10^(−5). Our results are found to be in agreement with lattice QCD calculations and resolve the disagreement found with previous data at ⟨Q^2⟩=5  GeV^2/c^2. Combining d^n_2 and a newly extracted twist-4 matrix element f^n_2, the average neutron color electric and magnetic forces were extracted and found to be of opposite sign and about 30  MeV/fm in magnitude.

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