Recoil protons from the process γ+p→p+π0 have been detected by nuclear emulsions placed within a hydrogen-gas target and used to measure the differential cross section for production of neutral pions. In this manner protons of energies as low as 5 Mev can be detected at laboratory angles corresponding to emission of a pion at center-of-momentum (c.m.) angles as low as 26°. This experiment thus supplements that of Oakley and Walker which is in the same range of photon energies (240-480 Mev), but is restricted to pion c.m. angles greater than about 70° owing to higher minimum detectable proton energy. Common experimental points provide intercomparison of absolute values. Angular distributions are analyzed in the form dσdΩ=A+Bcosθ+Ccos2θ in the c.m. system. The combined Oakley-Walker and present data give the average value of the ratio AC as -1.60±0.10 in the energy range from 260 to 450 Mev. The coefficient B, which gives the front-back asymmetry, passes through zero below the resonance energy of 320 Mev and is positive at higher energies. These results are consistent with magnetic dipole absorption leading to a state of the pion-nucleon system of angular momentum 32, together with a finite amount of S-wave interference.

The polarization of the recoil proton in neutral single-pion photoproduction from hydrogen, γ+p→p+π0, has been measured for pion center-of-mass angles near 90° at 7 photon energies from 450 to 900 MeV. The polarization rises to a maximum of 0.58 near 600 MeV and is still 0.42 at 900 MeV. The sign of the polarization is negative in the sense of k×q, where k is the photon momentum and q is the pion momentum. The measured values are given as functions of laboratory photon energy and c.m. pion angle as follows: 450 MeV, 109°, -0.16±0.14; 525 MeV, 84°, -0.36±0.19; 585 MeV, 86°, -0.58±0.15; 660 MeV, 77°, -0.51±0.17; 755 MeV, 76°, -0.55±0.15; 810 MeV, 89°, -0.45±0.17; 895 MeV, 90°, -0.42±0.16. The recoil protons were momentum-analyzed with a magnetic spectrometer. Nuclear emulsion was used as scatterer and detector. The emulsion technique is discussed in detail. The number of individual scatterings in emulsion used for each measurement varied between 750 and 1000.

The polarization of the recoil proton in γ + p → p + π0 has been measured at photon energies of 725 MeV and 900 MeV for centerof-mass angles near 90° using a small propane-ethane gas bubble chamber. Protons emerging from a liquid hydrogen target are momentum-analysed with a magnet, and the scattering from carbon observed in the bubble chamber. A counter telescope rejects pions and electrons, and protons from multiple pion processes are discriminated against by keeping the peak bremsstrahlung energy just above the mean photon energy. The visual method of observing scattering asymmetries has the advantage of being insensitive to systematic asymmetries in the incoming proton flux. It also quickly eliminates strongly inelastic scatters (stars), and provides a complete angular distribution from which the fraction of scatters which are inelastic can be deduced. The effect of inelastic scatters upon the scattering asymmetry is large when the energy-loss resolution is poor, an inherent problem with bremsstrahlung beams. The counting rate for this small chamber (3.4g/cm2 carbon scatterer) was 11 scatters/hour using every 5th synchrotron pulse; larger chambers with more dense scatterers (such as Freon) could give higher counting rates. Results are fork = 725MeV and ϑ (pion) = 87° (cm.), P=0.74±0.20, and for k=900MeV and ϑ (pion) = 70°, P=.51±.7. P is taken to be positive along the directionK xp, wherep is the momentum of the outgoing proton.