Measurement of the Vector and Tensor Asymmetries at Large Missing Momentum in Quasielastic ( e → , e ' p ) Electron Scattering from Deuterium
Here, we report the measurement of the beam-vector and tensor asymmetries A e d V and A d T in quasielastic ( e → , e ' p ) electrodisintegration of the deuteron at the MIT-Bates Linear Accelerator Center up to missing momentum of 500 MeV / c . Data were collected simultaneously over a momentum transfer range 0.1 < Q 2 < 0.5 ( GeV / c ) 2 with the Bates Large Acceptance Spectrometer Toroid using an internal deuterium gas target polarized sequentially in both vector and tensor states. The data are compared with calculations. The beam-vector asymmetry A e d V is found to be directly sensitive to the D -wave component of the deuteron and has a zero crossing at a missing momentum of about 320 MeV / c , as predicted. The tensor asymmetry A d T at large missing momentum is found to be dominated by the influence of the tensor force in the neutron-proton final-state interaction. The new data offer a strong constraint on theoretical models.