Measurement of Tensor Polarization in Elastic Electron-Deuteron Scattering at Large Momentum Transfer

Tensor polarization observables ( $t_{20}$, $t_{21}$, and $t_{22}$) have been measured in elastic electron-deuteron scattering for six values of momentum transfer between 0.66 and $1.7(\mathrm{GeV}/c{)}^2$. The experiment was performed at the Jefferson Laboratory in Hall C using the electron High Momentum Spectrometer, a specially designed deuteron magnetic channel and the recoil deuteron polarimeter POLDER. The new data determine to much larger $Q^2$ the deuteron charge form factors $G_C$ and $G_Q$. They are in good agreement with relativistic calculations and disagree with perturbative QCD predictions.