Inclusive scattering data on light nuclei as a tool for the extraction of GMn

Abstract We demonstrate that refinements in the analysis of inclusive scattering data on light nuclei enable the extraction of, generally accurate, values of the neutron magnetic form factor G M n ( Q 2 ) . In particular, a recent parameterization of ep inclusive resonance excitation enables a reliable calculation of the inelastic background, and as a consequence a separation of quasi-elastic and inelastic contributions. A far larger number of data points than previously considered is now available for analysis and enables a more reliable extraction of G M n from cross section and R T data on D and He. A conspicuous result is a neutron reduced form factor α n ( Q 2 ) , which decreases with increasing Q 2 up to the largest measured Q 2 ≈ 10 GeV 2 . The achieved accuracy appears mainly limited by the present uncertainties in the knowledge of proton form factors and by the accuracy of the data.