Investigation of the Active Target Method Possibilities for Determining the Polarizability of Protons and Neutrons

The investigation of photon scattering (Compton scattering) on nucleons makes it possible to determine one of the fundamental characteristics of the nucleon—polarizability, which has two components: electric (α) and magnetic (β), characterizing the nucleon response to the action of external electric and magnetic fields. The polarizability of the proton and neutron can be determined by measuring the dependences of the differential cross sections of Compton scattering on hydrogen (deuterium, helium) on energy and the angle of photon scattering. A new method for studying this process using an active target, which is both a gaseous target and a recoil particle detector, has been developed at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute.