A nonzero difference of the analyzing powers due to charge symmetry breaking has been measured with high precision in np elastic scattering at a neutron beam energy of 347 MeV. The neutron beam and proton target were alternately polarized for the measurements of An and Ap. A mirror-symmetric detection system was used to cancel geometry-related systematic errors. From fits of the measured asymmetry angular distributions over the range of 53.4°<~θcm<~86.9°, the difference in the zero-crossing angles of the analyzing powers was determined to be 0.438°±0.054°(stat.)±0.051°(syst.) in the center-of-mass system. Using the experimentally determined slope of the analyzing power dA/dθ=(−1.35±0.05)×10−2 deg−1 (c.m.), this is equivalent to ΔA≡An−Ap=[59±7(stat.)±7(syst.)±2(syst.)]×10−4. The shape of ΔA(θ) in the vicinity of the zero-crossing angle has also been extracted. Predictions of nucleon-nucleon interaction models based on meson exchange agree well with the results.
(C=N) or (C=P) stands for polarized beam or target.
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