Large experimental programmes in the fields of nuclear and particle physics search for evidence of physics beyond that explained by current theories. The observation of the Higgs boson completed the set of particles predicted by the standard model, which currently provides the best description of fundamental particles and forces. However, this theory's limitations include a failure to predict fundamental parameters, such as the mass of the Higgs boson, and the inability to account for dark matter and energy, gravity, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe, among other phenomena. These limitations have inspired searches for physics beyond the standard model in the post-Higgs era through the direct production of additional particles at high-energy accelerators, which have so far been unsuccessful. Examples include searches for supersymmetric particles, which connect bosons (integer-spin particles) with fermions (half-integer-spin particles), and for leptoquarks, which mix the fundamental quarks with leptons. Alternatively, indirect searches using precise measurements of well predicted standard-model observables allow highly targeted alternative tests for physics beyond the standard model because they can reach mass and energy scales beyond those directly accessible by today's high-energy accelerators. Such an indirect search aims to determine the weak charge of the proton, which defines the strength of the proton's interaction with other particles via the well known neutral electroweak force. Because parity symmetry (invariance under the spatial inversion (x, y, z) → (-x, -y, -z)) is violated only in the weak interaction, it provides a tool with which to isolate the weak interaction and thus to measure the proton's weak charge . Here we report the value 0.0719 ± 0.0045, where the uncertainty is one standard deviation, derived from our measured parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of polarized electrons on protons, which is -226.5 ± 9.3 parts per billion (the uncertainty is one standard deviation). Our value for the proton's weak charge is in excellent agreement with the standard model and sets multi-teraelectronvolt-scale constraints on any semi-leptonic parity-violating physics not described within the standard model. Our results show that precision parity-violating measurements enable searches for physics beyond the standard model that can compete with direct searches at high-energy accelerators and, together with astronomical observations, can provide fertile approaches to probing higher mass scales.

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We have measured parity-violating asymmetries in elastic electron-proton scattering over the range of momentum transfers 0.12 < or =Q2 < or =1.0 GeV2. These asymmetries, arising from interference of the electromagnetic and neutral weak interactions, are sensitive to strange-quark contributions to the currents of the proton. The measurements were made at Jefferson Laboratory using a toroidal spectrometer to detect the recoiling protons from a liquid hydrogen target. The results indicate nonzero, Q2 dependent, strange-quark contributions and provide new information beyond that obtained in previous experiments.

The violation of mirror symmetry in the weak force provides a powerful tool to study the internal structure of the proton. Experimental results have been obtained that address the role of strange quarks in generating nuclear magnetism. The measurement reported here provides an unambiguous constraint on strange quark contributions to the proton's magnetic moment through the electron-proton weak interaction. We also report evidence for the existence of a parity-violating electromagnetic effect known as the anapole moment of the proton. The proton's anapole moment is not yet well understood theoretically, but it could have important implications for precision weak interaction studies in atomic systems such as cesium.

We report the first measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in elastic electron scattering from the proton. The asymmetry depends on the neutral weak magnetic form factor of the proton which contains new information on the contribution of strange quark-antiquark pairs to the magnetic moment of the proton. We obtain the value G Z M 0.34 6 0.09 6 0.04 6 0.05 n.m. at Q 2 0.1 ͑GeV͞c͒ 2 . [S0031-9007(97)03181-5] PACS numbers: 13.60. Fz, 11.30.Er, 13.40.Gp, 14.20.Dh The measurement of strange quark-antiquark (ss) effects in the nucleon offers a unique window to study the effects of the qq "sea" at low momentum transfers. This information is an important clue to the dynamical effects of QCD that are responsible for form factors in the nonperturbative regime, and may lead to new insight into the origins of these effects.It has been shown [1] that the neutral weak current can be used to determine the ss contributions to nucleon form factors. The magnetic moment is one important nucleon property that can be studied in this fashion. The neutral weak magnetic form factor of the proton can be measured in parity-violating electron scattering, [2], thus providing information on the ss content of the nucleon's magnetic moment. In this Letter, we report the first such measurement and obtain the first direct experimental data relevant to determination of the strange magnetic moment of the proton.To lowest order (tree-level), the neutral weak magnetic form factor of the proton G Z M can be related to nucleon electromagnetic form factors and a contribution from strange quarks: As mentioned above, the quantity G Z M for the proton can be measured via elastic parity-violating electron scattering at backward angles [2]. The difference in cross sections for right and left handed incident electrons arises from interference of the electromagnetic and neutral weak amplitudes, and so contains products of electromagnetic and neutral weak form factors. The expression for elastic scattering from the proton is given by