Extraction of the neutron F2 structure function from inclusive proton and deuteron deep-inelastic scattering data

Abstract

The available world deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) data on proton and deuteron structure functions F2p, F2d, and their ratios are leveraged to extract the free neutron F2n structure function, the F2n/F2p ratio, and associated uncertainties using the latest nuclear effect calculations in the deuteron. Special attention is devoted to the normalization of the proton and deuteron experimental datasets and to the treatment of correlated systematic errors, as well as the quantification of procedural and theoretical uncertainties. The extracted F2n dataset is utilized to evaluate the Q2 dependence of the Gottfried sum rule and the nonsinglet F2p−F2n moments. To facilitate replication of our study, as well as for general applications, we provide a comprehensive DIS database including all recent Jefferson Lab 6 GeV measurements, the extracted Fn2, a modified CTEQ-JLab global parton distribution function fit named CJ15nlo_mod, and grids with calculated proton, neutron, and deuteron DIS structure functions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024