Form factor (quantum field theory)

In elementary particle physics and mathematical physics, in particular in effective field theory, a form factor is a function that encapsulates the properties of a certain particle interaction without including all of the underlying physics, but instead, providing the momentum dependence of suitable matrix elements. It is further measured experimentally in confirmation or specification of a theory—see experimental particle physics.For example, at low energies the interaction of a photon with a nucleon is a very complicated calculation involving interactions between the photon and a sea of quarks and gluons, and often the calculation cannot be fully performed from first principles. Often in this context, form factors are also called 'structure functions', since they can be used to describe the structure of the nucleon.