Study of the 4-He (e,e'd) pn reaction

The cross section for the 4He(e,e′d)pn reaction has been measured in parallel and in (q, ω)-constant kinematics for values of the three-momentum transfer of 406, 495 and 595 MeV/c, and for a range in missing momentum. Just above threshold this reaction can be characterized as a spin/isospin flip transition of the involved pn pair. By using two electron energies (576 and 370 MeV) the longitudinal and transverse structure functions could be separated. The cross sections turn out to be purely transverse, as expected for a spin/isospin flip transition. The data are well described by new covariant and current-conserving calculations that include the major final-state interaction effects.