The electric neutron form factor and the strange quark content of the nucleon

We have reanalyzed the electromagnetic form factor data of the nucleon within the QCD-VM model with special emphasis on the electric neutron form factor. We show that the strange quark content of the nucleon is of especial importance. Although, due to the Zweig rule, the φ does not couple to the nucleon directly and does not contribute to the asymptotic behaviour of the form factors, the strange quarks can give important contributions via two-step processes at intermediate momentum transfers. The analysis shows that the strange quark contributions can reduce the electric form factor of the neutron at low Q2, but have little effect on the asymptotic behaviour or on the other form factors. (orig.)