Electrodisintegration of the deuteron in the Δ-resonance region

Abstract A study of deuteron electrodisintegration has been performed as the first experiment at the new Bonn 3.5 GeV electron strecher and accelerator ELSA. This process was measured at an average four-momentum transfer Q 2 = 0.122 (GeV/ c ) 2 in the invariant hadron mass range of 2.02 – 2.30 GeV. The outgoing proton was detected in coincidence with the scattered electron at three different adjustments of the spectrometer ( θ p lab = 44°, 56°, 68°). The measured differential cross sections show the influence of the excitation of the Δ(1232) resonance in the deuteron. The experimental results are compared to theoretical calculations which include meson exchange currents, final-state interactions and isobar currents.