Nuclear Effects in Polarized $^3$He Structure Functions and Asymmetries

POSTER

Abstract

In polarized electron-nucleon scattering, spin structure functions (SSFs) give information about quark spin contributions to the total nucleon spin. Since free neutron targets are nonexistent, nuclei such as $^3$He (two protons and one neutron) and deuterium (one proton and one neutron) are commonly used as effective neutron targets to gather SF data. Given that the neutron is not free but is bound inside the nucleus results in consequences for its internal quark structure. The aim of this work was to study theoretical models of $^3$He SSFs and polarization asymmetries (ratios of polarized to unpolarized SFs) that account for these bound nucleon effects so that neutron information can be reliably extracted from nuclear data. The $^3$He SSFs and asymmetries can be calculated by smearing the proton and neutron SSFs with the light-cone momentum distributions of the nucleons in the nucleus. The full calculations of the $^3$He SSFs and asymmetries reveal a distinct difference in resonance structure compared to the free nucleon SSFs.

Authors

  • Jacob Ethier

    Stetson University, DeLand, FL

  • Chris Neu

    Florida State University, NHMFL, Institut Neel, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, Florida State University, Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, Florida State University, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, Austin Peay State University, University of Pardubice, Davidson College, Covenant College, Lookout Mtn, GA 30750, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RU, University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma, TN, USA, Sandia National Laboratories,* Albuquerque, NM, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AK, None, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State University Department of Physics and Astronomy, Florida State University and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Faculte des Sciences et Techniques and Universite Aix-Marseille, MIT Haystack Observatory, Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Tennessee of Chattanooga, Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Western Kentucky University, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, VA, Fermilab, University of Virginia and Fermilab, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center, University of North Florida, National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, Flordia State University, Louisiana State University, Washington University, Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Department of Physics, Florida State University., JINR, Tsinghua University, LBNL, LBNL/Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, Florida A\&M University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Gatton Academy, Exeter University, Florida International University, Office of Research, University of North Florida, Physics Department, University of North Florida, NSCL, Michigan State University, Physics Department, Florida State University, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Neel Institut, Kazan Federal University, Bielefeld University, Ben Gurion University, LCIB - CEA, University of Georgia, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, NHMFL, Tallahassee, USA, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, NHMFL, Tallahassee FL 32310 USA, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest, Hungary, Experimental physics II, University of Augsburg, Germany, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32310, IM2NP-CNRS (UMR 7334) and Universite Aix-Marseille, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Applied Superconductivity Center, Heifei National Lab for Physical Science at Microscale, USTC, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Department of Electrical Engineering, Rice University, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory/FSU, University of Virginia