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3.1 Charge radii

The essential physical point of the previous discussion can be extended to the case of relativistic field theories and to different form factors. The -dependence of is again related to the hadron structure, and mean squared-radii can be defined in anology with eq.(10), i.e.,

A simple example on the relation between these charge radii and the quark substructure in hadrons is clearly offered by the low-mass pseudoscalar mesons consisting of a spinless, s-wave pair. The squared charge radius of charged pions is known to be about and can be attributed to the distribution of the (positive) u and constituents of a around their common CM. In the case, similarly, the heavier substitutes , thus reducing the dimensions as corroborated by the data (see below). Finally, the negatively charged and light d-quark in a is worst localized than its positively charged and heavier partner giving therefore rise to the negative charge radius experimentally measured.



Carlos E.Piedrafita