Color transparency occurs if a small-sized wave packet, formed in a high momentum transfer process, escapes the nucleus before expanding. The time required for the expansion depends on the masses of the baryonic components of the wave packet. Measured proton diffractive dissociation and electron deep inelastic scattering cross sections are used to examine and severely constrain the relevant masses. These constraints allow significant color transparency effects to occur at experimentally accessible momentum transfers.

• Received 29 October 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.69.3619