A new value, rD=1.9546+0.0021 fm, for the rms radius of the deuteron has been extracted by reanalyzing the experimental data for the ratio R (q ) of the deuteron to proton electric form factors and for the slope of the neutron electric form factor GE"(q') at q'=0. The short-range structures in the radia1 deuteron wave functions found for a certain class of potentials (e.g. , Kermode et al. and potential models presented here) cause an increase in the model values of the deuteron charge form factor CE{q ), but have no special features in the variation of Cz(q ) with q . A new method for calculating CE(q ) accurately is presented.PACS number(s): 21.30. +y, 13.75.Cs, 21.45.+v, 21.10.Ft

It is shown that the inclusion of a nonlocal component with an optimum strength at short to medium distances in a deuteron potential model would significantly change the value of the root mean square radius of the deuteron without changing the asymptotic normalization. This proposes a remedy for the inconsistency shown by Klarsfeld et al. between the empirical lines which relate rd and As; and rd and at of the nonrelativistic potential models of the deuteron - with the points representing the experimental values.

Two values for the asymptotic D /S ratio of the deuteron g = 0.27 01+0.000 19 and g=0.02713+0.00006 are obtained using two empirical linear e, -Q and g-y Q relations we found for standard nonrelativistic potential models. It is shown that fitting the deuteron quadrupole moment Q, the deuteron rms matter radius rd, and the triplet scattering length a, simultaneously by a nonrelativistic nucleon-nucleon potential model is a critical task and it has been achieved by the inclusion of a shortrange attractive nonlocality in the potential.PACS number(s): 21.45.+v, 21.30.+ y, 13.75.Cs, 21.10.Ft