P. Hoffmeister

Quasifree photoproduction of eta mesons off the neutron

Quasifree photoproduction of eta mesons off nucleons bound in the deuteron has been measured with the CBELSA/TAPS detector for incident photon energies up to 2.5 GeV at the Bonn ELSA accelerator. The eta mesons have been detected in coincidence with recoil protons and recoil neutrons, which allows a detailed comparison of the quasifree n(gamma,eta)n and p(gamma,eta)p reactions. The excitation function for eta production off the neutron shows a pronounced bumplike structure at W=1.68 GeV (E{gamma} approximately 1 GeV), which is absent for the proton.

Quasifree Photoproduction ofηMesons off the Neutron

Quasifree photoproduction of eta mesons off nucleons bound in the deuteron has been measured with the CBELSA/TAPS detector for incident photon energies up to 2.5 GeV at the Bonn ELSA accelerator. The eta mesons have been detected in coincidence with recoil protons and recoil neutrons, which allows a detailed comparison of the quasifree n(gamma,eta)n and p(gamma,eta)p reactions. The excitation function for eta production off the neutron shows a pronounced bumplike structure at W=1.68 GeV (E{gamma} approximately 1 GeV), which is absent for the proton.

Measurement of the beam asymmetry in η photoproduction off the proton

The beam asymmetry, Σ, was measured at ELSA in the reaction γ p → η p using linearly polarised tagged photon beams, produced by coherent bremsstrahlung off a diamond. The crystal was oriented to provide polarised photons in the energy range Eγ = 800 to 1400 MeV with the maximum polarisation of Pγ = 49% obtained at 1305 MeV. Both dominant decay modes of the η into two photons and 3π were used to extract the beam asymmetry from the azimuthal modulation of the cross section. The measurements cover the angular range Θcm ≃ 50 – 150 degrees. Large asymmetries up to 80 % are observed, in agreement with a previous measurement. The eta-MAID model and the Bonn–Gatchina partial wave analysis describe the measurements, but the required partial waves differ significantly. PACS. 13.60.-r Photon and charged-lepton interactions with hadrons – 13.60.Le Meson production – 13.88.+e Polarization in interactions and scattering – 14.20.Gk Baryon resonances with S=0

Modification of the {omega}-Meson Lifetime in Nuclear Matter

Information on hadron properties in the nuclear medium has been derived from the photoproduction of omega mesons on the nuclei C, Ca, Nb, and Pb using the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector at the ELSA tagged photon facility in Bonn. The dependence of the omega-meson cross section on the nuclear mass number has been compared with three different types of models: a Glauber analysis, a Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck analysis of the Giessen theory group, and a calculation by the Valencia theory group. In all three cases, the inelastic omega width is found to be 130-150 MeV/c(2) at normal nuclear matter density for an average 3-momentum of 1.1 GeV/c. In the rest frame of the omega meson, this inelastic omega width corresponds to a reduction of the omega lifetime by a factor approximately 30. For the first time, the momentum dependent omegaN cross section has been extracted from the experiment and is in the range of 70 mb.

High statistics study of the reaction gamma p -> p pi(0)eta

Photoproduction off protons of the pπ0η three-body final state was studied with the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector, at the electron stretcher accelerator ELSA in Bonn, for incident energies from the π0η production threshold up to 2.5 GeV. Differential cross sections and the total cross sections are presented. The use of linearly polarized photons gives access to the polarization observables Σ, Is, and Ic, the latter two characterize beam asymmetries in case of three-body final states. Δ(1232)η, N(1535)1/2−π, and pa0(980) are the dominant isobars contributing to the reaction. The partial wave analysis confirms the existence of some nucleon and Δ resonances, for which so far only fair evidence was reported. A large number of decay modes of known nucleon and Δ resonances is presented. It is shown that detailed investigations of decay branching ratios may provide a key to unravelling the structure of nucleon and Δ resonances.

Quasi-free photoproduction of η-mesons off the deuteron

Abstract.Precise data for quasi-free photoproduction of η-mesons off the deuteron have been measured at the Bonn ELSA accelerator with the combined Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector for incident photon energies up to 2.5GeV. The η-mesons have been detected in coincidence with recoil protons and neutrons. Possible nuclear effects like Fermi motion and re-scattering can be studied via a comparison of the quasi-free reaction off the bound proton to η-production off the free proton. No significant effects beyond the folding of the free cross-section with the momentum distribution of the bound protons have been found. These Fermi motion effects can be removed by an analysis using the invariant mass of the η-nucleon pairs reconstructed from the final-state four-momenta of the particles. The total cross-section for quasi-free η-photoproduction off the neutron reveals even without correction for Fermi motion a pronounced bump-like structure around 1GeV of incident photon energy, which is not observed for the proton. This structure is even narrower in the invariant-mass spectrum of the η-neutron pairs. Position and width of the peak in the invariant-mass spectrum are W ≈ 1665 MeV and FWHM Γ ≈ 25 MeV. The data are compared to the results of different models.

Well-established nucleon resonances revisited by double-polarization measurements.

The first measurement is reported of the double-polarization observable G in the photoproduction of neutral pions off protons, covering the photon energy range from 620 to 1120 MeV and the full solid angle. G describes the correlation between the photon polarization plane and the scattering plane for protons polarized along the direction of the incoming photon. The observable is highly sensitive to contributions from baryon resonances. The new results are compared to the predictions from SAID, MAID, and BnGa partial wave analyses. In spite of the long-lasting efforts to understand γp→pπ(0) as the simplest photoproduction reaction, surprisingly large differences between the new data and the latest predictions are observed which are traced to different contributions of the N(1535) resonance with spin parity J(P)=1/2(-) and N(1520) with J(P)=3/2(-). In the third resonance region, where N(1680) with J(P)=5/2(+) production dominates, the new data are reasonably close to the predictions.

Linearly polarised photon beams at ELSA and measurement of the beam asymmetry in \pi^{0}_{} photoproduction off the proton

At the electron accelerator ELSA a linearly polarised tagged photon beam is produced by coherent bremsstrahlung off a diamond crystal. Orientation and energy range of the linear polarisation can be deliberately chosen by accurate positioning of the crystal with a goniometer. The degree of polarisation is determined by the form of the scattered electron spectrum. Good agreement between experiment and expectations on the basis of the experimental conditions is obtained. Polarisation degrees of

Determination of the η′-nucleus optical potential

\ensuremath P_{\gamma}=40

In-medium omega mass from the gamma+Nb -> pi(0)gamma+X reaction

% are typically achieved at half of the primary electron energy. The determination of