Polarization transfer in the d(epol,e' ppol)n reaction up to Q^2=1.61 (GeV/c)^2

The recoil proton polarization was measured in the d(epol,e' ppol)n reaction in Hall A of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab). The electron kinematics were centered on the quasielastic peak (x{sub Bj} {approx} 1) and included three values of the squared four-momentum transfer, Q{sup 2}=0.43, 1.00 and 1.61 (GeV/c){sup 2}. For Q{sup 2}=0.43 and 1.61 (GeV/c){sup 2}, the missing momentum, p{sub m}, was centered at zero while for Q{sup 2}=1.00 (GeV/c){sup 2} two values of p{sub m} were chosen: 0 and 174 MeV/c. At low p{sub m}, the Q{sup 2} dependence of the longitudinal polarization, P{sub z}', is not well described by a state-of-the-art calculation. Further, at higher p{sub m}, a 3.5 sigma discrepancy was observed in the transverse polarization, P{sub x}'. Understanding the origin of these discrepancies is important in order to confidently extract the neutron electric form factor from the analogous d(epol,e' npol)p experiment.