Polarization-transfer measurement to a large-virtuality bound proton in the deuteron

We report the measurement of the ratio of polarization-transfer components, P-x/P-z, in the H-2(6 (e) over right arrow, e'(p) over right arrow )n reaction at low and high missing momenta, in search of differences between free and bound protons. The observed deviation of P-x/P-z from that of a free proton, which is similar to that observed in He-4, indicates that the effect in nuclei is a function of the virtuality of the knock-out proton and the missing momentum direction, but not the average nuclear density. There is a general agreement between the data and calculations, which assume free proton form factors, however, the measurements are consistently about 10% higher. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.