Δ resonance contribution to two-photon exchange in electron-proton scattering -: art. no. 172503

We calculate the effects on the elastic electron-proton scattering cross section of the two-photon exchange contribution with an intermediate Delta resonance. The Delta two-photon exchange contribution is found to be smaller in magnitude than the previously evaluated nucleon contribution, with an opposite sign at backward scattering angles. The sum of the nucleon and Delta two-photon exchange corrections has an angular dependence compatible with both the polarization-transfer and the Rosenbluth methods of measuring the nucleon electromagnetic form factors.