Proton Form Factor Measurements at Jefferson Lab

In two experiments at Jefferson Lab in Hall A, the first one in 1998 and the second in 2000, the ratio of the electromagnetic formfactors of the proton was obtained by measuring P{sub t} and P{sub ell}, the transverse and longitudinal recoil proton polarization components, respectively, in {rvec e}p {yields} e{rvec p}; the ratio G{sub E{sub p}}/G{sub M{sub p}} is proportional to P{sub t}/P{sub {ell}}. Simultaneous measurement of P{sub t} and P{sub {ell}} provides good control of the systematic uncertainty. The first measurement of G{sub E{sub p}}/G{sub M{sub p}} ratio was made to Q{sup 2} = 3.5 GeV{sup 2} and the second measurement to Q{sup 2} = 5.6 GeV{sup 2}. The results from these two experiments indicate that the ratio scales like 1/Q{sup 2}, in stark contrast with cross section data analyzed by the Rosenbluth separation method which gives a constant value for this ratio. The incompatibility of the recoil polarization results with most of the Rosenbluth separation results appears now well established above Q{sup 2} of about 3 GeV{sup 2}. The consensus at the present time is that the interference of the two-photon exchange with the Born term, which had been deemed negligible until recently, might explain themore » discrepancy between the results of the two techniques; the possibility that the discrepancy is due to incomplete radiative correction has also been recently discussed.« less