Neutron Form Factors from a Study of Inelastic Electron Spectra in the Electrodisintegration of Deuterium

Measurements of the ratio of the total inelastic electron-deuteron cross section to the elastic electron-proton cross section have been made to an accuracy of about 3% for values of the square of the four-momentum transfer q² in the range 1.5 to 7.5 F^-2. These ratios have been analyzed in terms of the form factors of the neutron using the "area method," and it is concluded that the corrections necessary to the simple sum rule given by Jankus are approximately equal in magnitude to those encountered in the use of the more familiar "peak method." A detailed comparison has been made between the shapes of the observed inelastic electron-deuteron cross sections as a function of the scattered electron momentum and the shapes expected according to a theoretical treatment due to Durand.