Covariant description of inelastic electron-deuteron scattering: predictions of the relativistic impulse approximation

Using the covariant spectator theory and the transversity formalism, the unpolarized, coincidence cross section for deuteron electrodisintegration, d(e, e'p)n, is studied. The relativistic kinematics are reviewed, and simple theoretical formulae for the relativistic impulse approximation (RIA) are derived and discussed. Numerical predictions for the scattering in the high Q{sup 2} region obtained from the RIA and five other approximations are presented and compared. We concluded that measurements of the unpolarized coincidence cross section and the asymmetry A{sub phi}, to an accuracy that will distinguish between different theoretical models, is feasible over most of the wide kinematic range accessible at Jefferson Lab.