Measurement of theF ₂ structure function in deep inelastice ⁺ p scattering using 1994 data from the ZEUS detector at HERA

Abstract

We present measurements of the structure functionF ₂ ine ⁺ p scattering at HERA in the range 3.5 GeV²<Q ²<5000 GeV². A new reconstruction method has allowed a significant improvement in the resolution of the kinematic variables and an extension of the kinematic region covered by the experiment. AtQ ²<35 GeV² the range inx now spans 6.3·10⁻⁵<x<0.08 providing overlap with measurements from fixed target experiments. At values ofQ ² above 1000 GeV² thex range extends to 0.5. Systematic errors below 5% have been achieved for most of the kinematic region. The structure function rises asx decreases; the rise becomes more pronounced asQ ² increases. The behaviour of the structure function data is well described by next-to-leading order perturbative QCD as implemented in the DGLAP evolution equations.