Compton scattering from the deuteron below pion-production threshold

Abstract

Differential cross sections for elastic scattering of photons from the deuteron have recently been measured at the Tagged-Photon Facility at the MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden. These first new measurements in more than a decade further constrain the isoscalar electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon and provide the first-ever results above 100 MeV, where the sensitivity to the polarizabilities is increased. We add 23 points between 70 and 112 MeV, at angles ${60}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, ${120}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, and ${150}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$. Analysis of these data using a chiral effective field theory indicates that the cross sections are both self-consistent and consistent with previous measurements. Extracted values of ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{s}=[12.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.8(\mathrm{stat})\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2(\mathrm{BSR})\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}0.8(\mathrm{th})]\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{fm}}^{3}$ and ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{s}=[2.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.8(\mathrm{stat})\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2(\mathrm{BSR})\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}0.8(\mathrm{th})]\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{fm}}^{3}$ are obtained from a fit to these 23 new data points. This paper presents in detail the experimental conditions and the data analysis used to extract the cross sections.