Polarization transfer in the 4He(e,e'p)3H reaction at Q2=0.8 and 1.3 (GeV/c)2

Phys Rev Lett. 2010 Aug 13;105(7):072001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.072001. Epub 2010 Aug 12.

Abstract

Proton recoil polarization was measured in the quasielastic 4He(e,e'p)3H reaction at Q{2}=0.8 and 1.3 (GeV/c){2} with unprecedented precision. The polarization-transfer coefficients are found to differ from those of the 1H(e,e'p) reaction, contradicting a relativistic distorted-wave approximation and favoring either the inclusion of medium-modified proton form factors predicted by the quark-meson coupling model or a spin-dependent charge-exchange final-state interaction. For the first time, the polarization-transfer ratio is studied as a function of the virtuality of the proton.