Structure Functions

The aim of this text is to give a review of the structure functions of protons and neutrons, combining an introduction to the important theoretical concepts with an account of the most relevant experimental techniques and results. Topics discussed include deep inelastic lepton and hadron scattering, the "naive" and the QCD-improved parton model, sum rules and experimental techniques. There are also discussions on such topics as physics at small x, spin-dependent structure functions, parametrizations of parton distributions and nuclear effects.