Structure of the Nucleon

Abstract

It is generally believed that nucleons have some sort of internal structure. By this we mean that if one attempts to discuss their interactions with other particles and, in particular, with the electromagnetic field, one finds that they cannot be described in terms of kinematical quantities and static properties such as charge, spin, and magnetic moment. It is, of course, possible that in fact these should suffice and that our theoretical ideas about the fundamental interactions are so entirely wrong as to have not even phenomenological, qualitative validity. For example, one could conjecture that apparent deviations from a description in terms of point particles in electromagnetic interactions means a breakdown of quantum electrodynamics. Such arguments are difficult to combat except with successful, less radical explanations. In view of the perhaps qualified success of meson theory to correlate, via dispersion relations, much of the data in the field of pi-meson physics, we adopt the attitude that quantum field theory indeed has some finite domain of applicability and attempt a description of nucleon structure based on it.

Files

Additional details