Neutron structure functions from nuclear data.

Abstract

The spin-averaged structure function of the neutron, F2n, is extracted from the latest deuteron data, taking into account the most recent developments in the treatment of nuclear effects in the deuteron. At small x, the F2D/F2p ratio measured by the New Muon and Fermilab E665 Collaborations is interpreted to suggest a small amount of shadowing in deuterium, which acts to enhance F2n for x≲0.1. A careful treatment of Fermi motion, binding and nucleon off-shell effects in the deuteron also indicates that the neutron/proton structure functio ratio as x → 1 is consistent with the perturbative QCD expectation of 3/7, but larger than the traditional value of 1/4.