Quasielastic reaction mechanism studied using the reactionC12(e,e’p)

We have measured missing-energy spectra for the reaction {sup 12}C({ital e},{ital e}{prime}{ital p}) in the quasielastic region in parallel kinematics at momentum transfers {ital q} of 585, 775, and 827 MeV/{ital c}. We observed {sup 1}{ital p} and {sup 1}{ital s} single-proton knockout peaks and large broad strength attributed to multinucleon knockout. We saw no increase in strength at pion threshold. The ratio of single-particle knockout to a distorted-wave impulse-approximation calculation is approximately constant with {ital q}. Multinucleon knockout is 25%--40% of the total cross section; it increases with {ital q}. This quasielastic non-single-nucleon knockout is much stronger than previously observed.