Studying two-photon exchange in deep inelastic scattering with HERA data
Abstract
Two-photon exchange (TPE) is one of the leading explanations for discrepancies in measurements of the proton electromagnetic form factors. It has been proposed that TPE could impact not only elastic scattering but also the cross sections for both inclusive deep inelastic scattering (DIS) and semi-inclusive DIS, thereby affecting the interpretation of DIS structure functions in terms of parton distributions. It is expected that higher-order QED effects such as TPE should manifest as a deviation from unity in the ratio of e + p and e − p DIS cross sections. We use the existing inclusive e ± p DIS data from HERA and SLAC to constrain higher-order QED effects on inclusive DIS.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions
Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies
High-Energy Particle Collisions Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 2 January 2026
- Language
- EN