<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">Andrei,</span></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br>We are disappointed to hear that you no longer wish to be included on the author list for our publication. As to your questioning of the analysis, we assure you that we have accounted for the points that you raised. However, we are happy to provide the additional information below. We note also that it is our intention to include such details in an archival paper.</span></font><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br></span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">The changes found between the December and May drafts are almost entirely due to finalizing our calculations of the nuclear effects from 3He. These produce changes in not only the "effective neutron polarization" but also as inputs to other parts of the calculations, such as the resulting cross sections, and the proton asymmetry. These changes from our FSI calculation push the asymmetry down by the factors seen. Indeed, the delay between the December and May drafts was due almost entirely to finalizing the calculation of nuclear effects.<br><br>We do apologize for the typo in the circulated Dec draft. The A_meas for the lowest Q^2 point was not -0.071. The raw asymmetries have not changed between drafts. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">With regard to your comments on the proton dilution, you have raised several important issues, but we were careful to fully account for them in our analysis. We would like to explain our approach more fully in the prl, but there is not sufficient room. This subject will certainly be discussed more fully in the archival paper. To begin with, your comment that the flux of protons from 3He is in excess to the flux of neutrons, and that it cannot be taken into account by looking at proton data alone, is certainly true. You may recall that our original proposal stated that such effects would be accounted for using a Monte Carlo approach of the sort that you are advocating. Indeed, such a detailed Monte Carlo project was realized and used, and included, among other things, a careful accounting of the various materials in our experimental setup (an issue raised in your email). We went beyond the proposal, however, in that we found an independent method for empirically determining the proton dilution utilizing studies of He-3, hydrogen and nitrogen targets, each of which have different ratios of Z/A. This separate technique was in excellent agreement with our Monte Carlo, and greatly adds to our confidence in our results. You may recall having heard all of this described in several Hall A collaboration meetings. The general method of the analysis was detailed in Seamus' thesis, which can found at the following link:</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br></span></font></div><div><a href="http://www.jlab.org/~riordan/thesis/gen-riordan.pdf"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">http://www.jlab.org/~riordan/thesis/gen-riordan.pdf</span></font></a><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br><br>Regarding the lowest kinematic point, we remind you of the many discussions at the full GEN collaboration meetings (not the weekly analysis meetings) in which we collectively decided to put priority on the highest Q^2 points where the new physics lies. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">After considering the above comments, perhaps you will consider rejoining the paper. We are also happy to address any further concerns.<br><br>Best regards,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br>Gordon, Bogdan, Nilanga and Seamus</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></div></div></div><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>_____________________________________________________________</div><div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Gordon D. Cates, Jr. Department of Physics </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Professor of Physics and Radiology University of Virginia</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Director, Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics P.O. Box 400714</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Phone: (434) 924-4792 382 McCormick Rd.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">email: <a href="mailto:cates@virginia.edu">cates@virginia.edu</a> Charlottesville, VA, 22904</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_____________________________________________________________</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></body></html>