Status and plans for neutral weak form factors measurements

We report on a mature experimental program to measure the parity-violating asymmetry in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons from unpolarized ¹H, ²H and ⁴He targets. The focus is the measurement of the nucleon neutral weak form factors at intermediate four-momentum transfer (0.1 < Q ² < 1) (GeV/c)² which provide information about the impact of virtual strange quarks on the charge and current distributions inside nucleons. We report on recent technical progress in the design and scope of the experimental techniques. The physics implications of the published measurements are discussed and the current status and anticipated results from experiments under construction are summarized.Received: 30 September 2002, Published online: 22 October 2003PACS: 12.15.Mm Neutral Currents - 14.20.Dh Protons and Neutrons