Analytic continuation of nucleon electromagnetic form factors in the time-like region.

The possibility to compute nucleon electromagnetic form factors in the time-like region by analytic continuation of their space-like expressions, obtained in the framework of a generic model of nucleons, has been explored. We have developed a procedure to analytically solve Fourier transforms of the nucleon electromagnetic current and hence to obtain form factors defined in all kinematic regions and fulfilling the first-principles requirements of analyticity and unitarity. The results obtained in the particular case of the Skyrme model are discussed and compared to data, both in the space-like and time-like region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]