Fresh Extraction of the Proton Charge Radius from Electron Scattering

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Particle Physics
• Quantum Chromodynamics

Background:

• The proton radius is a fundamental parameter in physics.
• Discrepancies in proton radius measurements have persisted.
• Precise determination is crucial for testing fundamental theories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, assumption-free method for proton radius extraction.
• To re-evaluate proton radius using modern electron-proton scattering data.
• To resolve discrepancies in proton radius measurements.

Main Methods:

• Developed an interpolation method using continued fractions.
• Augmented the method with statistical sampling.
• Applied to extant elastic electron-proton scattering datasets.

Main Results:

• Achieved mutual consistency across modern electron-proton datasets.
• Determined the proton radius to be r_{p}=0.847(8) fm.
• The result aligns with measurements from muonic hydrogen and spectroscopy.

Conclusions:

• The novel method provides a reliable extraction of the proton radius.
• The obtained proton radius value is robust and consistent.
• This work contributes to resolving the proton radius puzzle.