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{\large\bf 
Precision Measurement and QCD Analysis of the Inclusive Deep Inelastic 
{\boldmath $ep$} Scattering Cross Section at Low {\boldmath $Q^{2}$}  
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{H1 Collaboration}\\                            
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{\small \em DESY, Hamburg, Germany}\\[6mm]
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A measurement of the deep inelastic scattering cross section
is reported for momentum transfers squared $2 \leq Q^2 \leq 120{~ \rm
GeV^2}$ and for Bjorken-$x$ values $3 \cdot 10^{-5}~<x~<0.1$. 
The data were collected  by the HERA experiment H1 in the years $1996$
and $1997$,  with a luminosity of 20~pb$^{-1}$ for $Q^2 > 10 $~GeV$^2$, 
of 2~pb$^{-1}$, taken in a dedicated run, for $Q^2$ below 10~GeV$^2$
and of 5~pb$^{-1}$ using a special trigger to access the region
of high inelasticity up to $y \simeq 0.9$. 
This measurement is by about a factor of two more accurate than 
results published previously, and it uses in the lower $Q^2$
region the new Backward Silicon Tracker of the H1 experiment.
A QCD analysis of the cross section data,
combined with  fixed target experiments, shows theory to NLO
to be in very good  agreement with the new data. A rather
precise measurement is obtained of the gluon distribution $xg(x,Q^2)$
in the proton.
A novel technique has been developed to determine the longitudinal
structure function $F_L(x,Q^2)$ using the measured derivative
 $\partial \sigma / \partial \log y$. This permitted the range of
access to $F_L$ to be extended down to low $Q^2$ values of 3~GeV$^2$.

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