π-Meson-Elektron-Streuung und Struktur des π-Mesons

Abstract

In this article we propose π-meson-electron scattering as a possibility for investigating the electromagnetic structure of the pion. This experiment requires very high energy, but not necessarily such a high accuracy as the extrapolation procedure of CHEW and Low. After a short discussion of the general properties of the electromagnetic formfactor of the π-meson, we calculate the π—e and the e—π scattering cross sections with form factor. With an energy of 25 GeV and a 10% experimental error we can probe the root mean square radius of the pion down to 0.8 10-13 cm, with 50 GeV down to 0.6·10-13 cm and with 100 GeV to 0.36·10-13 cm. The rms radius of the pion may be larger than previously assumed, because there exists the possibility of a fairly large π — π interaction. A complementary possibility for investigating the electromagnetic structure of the pion consists in electron-positron pair annihilation with the creation of a π± pair. This process will probe the form factor of the π-meson for timelike arguments.