Precise helicity-dependent cross sections and the double-polarization observable $E$ were measured for $\eta$ photoproduction from quasi-free protons and neutrons bound in the deuteron. The $\eta\rightarrow 2\gamma$ and $\eta\rightarrow 3\pi^0\rightarrow 6\gamma$ decay modes were used to optimize the statistical quality of the data and to estimate systematic uncertainties. The measurement used the A2 detector setup at the tagged photon beam of the electron accelerator MAMI in Mainz. A longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target was used in combination with a circularly polarized photon beam from bremsstrahlung of a longitudinally polarized electron beam. The reaction products were detected with the electromagnetic calorimeters Crystal Ball and TAPS, which covered 98\% of the full solid angle. The results show that the narrow structure observed earlier in the unpolarized excitation function of $\eta$ photoproduction off the neutron appears only in reactions with antiparallel photon and nucleon spin ($\sigma_{1/2}$). It is absent for reactions with parallel spin orientation ($\sigma_{3/2}$) and thus very probably related to partial waves with total spin 1/2. The behavior of the angular distributions of the helicity-dependent cross sections was analyzed by fitting them with Legendre polynomials. The results are in good agreement with a model from the Bonn-Gatchina group, which uses an interference of $P_{11}$ and $S_{11}$ partial waves to explain the narrow structure.
Diff. cross section for helicity-1/2 at W= 1.505 GeV
Diff. cross section for helicity-1/2 at W= 1.515 GeV
Diff. cross section for helicity-1/2 at W= 1.525 GeV
The γp→π0p reaction was studied at laboratory photon energies from 425 to 1445 MeV with a transversely polarized target and a longitudinally polarized beam. The beam-target asymmetry F was measured for the first time and new high precision data for the target asymmetry T were obtained. The experiment was performed at the photon tagging facility of the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) using the Crystal Ball and TAPS photon spectrometers. The polarized cross sections were expanded in terms of associated Legendre functions and compared to recent predictions from several partial-wave analyses. The impact of the new data on our understanding of the underlying partial-wave amplitudes and baryon resonance contributions is discussed.
Target asymmetry T for c.m. energy W= 1.3062 GeV
Target asymmetry T for c.m. energy W= 1.3275 GeV
Target asymmetry T for c.m. energy W= 1.3486 GeV
We present new data for the transverse target asymmetry T and the very first data for the beam-target asymmetry F in the $\vec \gamma \vec p\to\eta p$ reaction up to a center-of-mass energy of W=1.9 GeV. The data were obtained with the Crystal-Ball/TAPS detector setup at the Glasgow tagged photon facility of the Mainz Microtron MAMI. All existing model predictions fail to reproduce the new data indicating a significant impact on our understanding of the underlying dynamics of $\eta$ meson photoproduction. The peculiar nodal structure observed in existing T data close to threshold is not confirmed.
Target asymmetry T for c.m. energy W= 1.4969 GeV
Target asymmetry T for c.m. energy W= 1.5156 GeV
Target asymmetry T for c.m. energy W= 1.5341 GeV
Compton scattering from the proton was investigated at s=6.9 (GeV/c)**2 and \t=-4.0 (GeV/c)**2 via polarization transfer from circularly polarized incident photons. The longitudinal and transverse components of the recoil proton polarization were measured. The results are in excellent agreement with a prediction based on a reaction mechanism in which the photon interacts with a single quark carrying the spin of the proton and in disagreement with a prediction of pQCD based on a two-gluon exchange mechanism.
Polarization transfer parameters.
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