Measurement of the reaction 2H(e,e') at 180 degrees close to the deuteron breakup threshold.

Inclusive inelastic electron scattering off the deuteron under 180 degrees has been studied at the S-DALINAC close to the breakup threshold at momentum transfers q=0.27 fm;{-1} and 0.74 fm;{-1} with good energy resolution sufficient to map in detail the spin flip M1 response, which governs the starting reaction pn-->dgamma of big-bang nucleosynthesis over most of the relevant temperature region. Results from potential model calculations and (for q=0.27 fm;{-1}) from pionless nuclear effective field theory are in excellent agreement with the data.