Elastic Electron Scattering from Tritium and Helium-3

Abstract

The mirror nuclei of tritium and helium-3 have been studied by the method of elastic electron scattering. Absolute cross sections have been measured for incident electron energies in the range 110-680 MeV at scattering angles lying between 40 and 135\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} in this energy range. The data have been interpreted in a straightforward manner and form factors are given for the distributions of charge and magnetic moment in the two nuclei over a range of four-momentum transfer squared 1.0-8.0 ${\mathrm{F}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$. Model-independent radii of the charge and magnetic-moment distributions are given and an attempt is made to deduce form factors describing the spatial distribution of the protons in tritium and helium-3.