Electron scattering experiments

Because of the elementary structure of the electron, it is considered a precise probe of the constituent nature of hadronic matter. Use of the electron as a probe of subnucleonic degrees of freedom in nuclei is discussed in this presentation. Experimentally determined charge distributions for a wide variety of nuclei are presented and compared with shell model calculations which include single particle modes, core polarization, corrections due to delta−hole components, and corrections due to inclusion of meson exchange currents. (AIP)