Neutron skin studies of medium and heavy nuclei

The recent PREX experiment at JLab has demonstrated the sensitivity of parity violating electron scattering to the neutron density, meanwhile outlining its major experimental challenges. On the other side, intermediate energy photons are an ideal probe for studying the properties of strongly interacting matter from the nuclear scale down to the sub-nuclear components of the nucleus. Among others coherent pion photoproduction can provide information on the existence and nature of neutron skins in nuclei. The simultaneous combination of different techniques allows a systematic determination across the periodic table thus benchmarking modern calculation. Recently a systematic investigation of …

From deep inside to outer space: exploring neutron skins

Study of Two-Photon Exchange via the Beam Transverse Single Spin Asymmetry in Electron-Proton Elastic Scattering at Forward Angles over a Wide Energy Range

We report on a new measurement of the beam transverse single spin asymmetry in electron-proton elastic scattering, $A^{ep}_{\perp}$, at five beam energies from 315.1 MeV to 1508.4 MeV and at a scattering angle of $30^{\circ} < \theta < 40^{\circ}$. The covered $Q^2$ values are 0.032, 0.057, 0.082, 0.218, 0.613 (GeV/c)$^2$. The measurement clearly indicates significant inelastic contributions to the two-photon-exchange (TPE) amplitude in the low-$Q^2$ kinematic region. No theoretical calculation is able to reproduce our result. Comparison with a calculation based on unitarity, which only takes into account elastic and $\mathrm{\pi N}$ inelastic intermediate states, suggests that there are ot…

Status and prospects of Rn measurements at Mainz

Parity-violating electron scattering is particularly sensitive to the neutron density. The recent PREX experiment at the Jefferson Laboratory (JLab) has demonstrated the feasibility of this method meanwhile outlining its major experimental challenges. On the other side intermediate energy photons are an ideal probe for studying the properties of strongly interacting matter from the nuclear scale down to the sub-nuclear components of the nucleus. Among others, coherent pion photoproduction on nuclei is an attractive approach to obtain information on the existence and nature of neutron skins in nuclei. The simultaneous combination of different techniques allows a systematic determination of t…

Study of light backgrounds from relativistic electrons in air light-guides

The MOLLER experiment proposed at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility plans a precision low energy determination of the weak mixing angle via the measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of high energy longitudinally polarized electrons from electrons bound in a liquid hydrogen target (M{\o}ller scattering). A relative measure of the scattering rate is planned to be obtained by intercepting the M{\o}ller scattered electrons with a circular array of thin fused silica tiles attached to air light guides, which facilitate the transport of Cherenkov photons generated within the tiles to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The scattered flux will also pass through …