Total and differential cross sections for the reaction p(gamma, eta)p have been measured for photon energies in the range from 750 MeV to 3 GeV. The low-energy data are dominated by the S11 wave which has two poles in the energy region below 2 GeV. Eleven nucleon resonances are observed in their decay into p eta. At medium energies we find evidence for a new resonance N(2070)D15 with (mass, width) = (2068+-22, 295+-40) MeV. At photon energies above 1.5 GeV, a strong peak in forward direction develops, signalling the exchange of vector mesons in the t channel.
Total cross section determined by summing the angular bins and extrapolating outside the angular range of the experiment.
Differential cross section as a function of c.m. angle for the photon energy range 750 to 950 GeV.
Differential cross section as a function of c.m. angle for the photon energy range 950 to 1150 GeV.
The gp-->etap reaction has been measured with the Crystal Ball and TAPS multiphoton spectrometers in the energy range from the production threshold of 707 MeV to 1.4 GeV (1.49 =< W >= 1.87 GeV). Bremsstrahlung photons produced by the 1.5-GeV electron beam of the Mainz Microtron MAMI-C and momentum analyzed by the Glasgow Tagging Spectrometer were used for the eta-meson production. Our accumulation of 3.8 x 10^6 gp-->etap-->3pi0p-->6gp events allows a detailed study of the reaction dynamics. The gp-->etap differential cross sections were determined for 120 energy bins and the full range of the production angles. Our data show a dip near W = 1680 MeV in the total cross section caused by a substantial dip in eta production at forward angles. The data are compared to predictions of previous SAID and MAID partial-wave analyses and to thelatest SAID and MAID fits that have included our data.
Total cross section for the reaction GAMMA P --> ETA P.
Differential cross section for the reaction GAMMA P --> ETA P at a photon energy of 710.4 MeV. The errors in the table are statistical only and there is an overall systematic uncertainty of 4.3 PCT.
Differential cross section for the reaction GAMMA P --> ETA P at a photon energy of 714.5 MeV. The errors in the table are statistical only and there is an overall systematic uncertainty of 4.3 PCT.