A measurement of elastic deeply virtual Compton scattering gamma* p -> gamma p using e^+ p and e^- p collision data recorded with the H1 detector at HERA is presented. The analysed data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 306 pb^-1, almost equally shared between both beam charges. The cross section is measured as a function of the virtuality Q^2 of the exchanged photon and the centre-of-mass energy W of the gamma* p system in the kinematic domain 6.5 < Q^2 < 80 GeV^2, 30 < W < 140 GeV and |t| < 1 GeV^2, where t denotes the squared momentum transfer at the proton vertex. The cross section is determined differentially in t for different Q^2 and W values and exponential t-slope parameters are derived. Using e^+ p and e^- p data samples, a beam charge asymmetry is extracted for the first time in the low Bjorken x kinematic domain. The observed asymmetry is attributed to the interference between Bethe-Heitler and deeply virtual Compton scattering processes. Experimental results are discussed in the context of two different models, one based on generalised parton distributions and one based on the dipole approach.
The differential cross sections for lepton pair production in e+e− annihilation at 29 GeV have been measured and found to be in good agreement with the standard model of the electroweak interaction. With the assumption of e−μ−τ universality, the weak neutral-current couplings are determined to be ga2=0.23±0.05 and gv2=0.03±0.04.
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