Measurement of the proton structure function F-L(x, Q(2)) at low x

A first measurement is reported of the longitudinal proton structure function FL(X, Q(2)) at the ep collider HERA. It is based on inclusive deep inelastic e(+)p scattering cross section measurements with a positron beam energy of 27.5 GeV and proton beam energies of 920, 575 and 460 GeV. Employing the energy dependence of the cross section, FL is measured in a range of squared four-momentum transfers 12 LT = Q2 LT =, 90 GeV2 and low Bjorken x 0.00024 LT = x LT = 0.0036. The F-L values agree with higher order QCD calculations based on parton densities obtained using cross section data previously measured at HERA. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.