The variation of the differential cross section for π+ photoproduction from hydrogen, with γ-ray energy, has been examined at a laboratory angle of 58° to the γ-ray beam. A thin hydrogen target, and a counter system designed to eliminate random events, have been employed. Mean values for the differential cross section dσdΩ at γ-ray energies of 162, 168, 175, and 192 Mev are 5.42±0.38, 5.77±0.41, 6.74±0.47, and 8.22±0.58 μb/sr, respectively, where the error limits refer to relative values. The results substantiate the rising trend of the interaction quantity {(dσdΩ)(μ2pε)(1+ωM)2} near threshold, in accord with dispersion theory; and the absolute cross sections are compatible with a threshold value for a0+ near 20 μb/ steradian, consistent with findings in related pion work.

The ratio of the yields of negative and positive pions photoproduced in deuterium has been measured at six photon energies between 500 and 1000 Mev and at seven angles between 20° and 160° in the center-of-momentum system of the photon and target nucleon. Pions were selected with a magnetic spectrometer and identified using momentum and specific ionization in a scintillation counter telescope. The spectator model of the deuteron was used to identify the photon energy. Statistical errors assigned to the π−π+ ratio range between five and fifteen percent. The results of the present experiment join smoothly with the low-energy π−π+ ratios obtained by Sands et al. At high energies the π−π+ ratio varies from 0.5 at forward angles and energies near 900 Mev to 2.5 at 160° c.m. and energies 600 to 800 Mev. The cross sections for π− photo-production from neutrons have been derived from the π−π+ ratio and the CalTech π+ photoproduction data. The angular distributions for π− production are considerably different from those for π+; there is, for example, a systematic increase at the most backward angles. The energy dependence of the total cross section for π− is similar to that for π+, although the second resonance peak occurs at a slightly lower energy, and at 900 and 1000 Mev the π− cross section is smaller by a factor 1.6. A comparison is made of the cross sections for π+ photoproduction from hydrogen and deuterium, although the accuracy of this comparison is not high.

An accurate measurement of the differential cross section for the photoproduction of positive pions from protons has been made at the Berkeley synchrotron for photon energies of 260 and 290 Mev. The mesons were produced in a thin-walled liquid-hydrogen target, and the meson-detection apparatus utilized the characteristic decay of the pion. The measurements were done in two steps, from 0° to 50° with equipment specifically designed to reduce a very high forward-angle positron background, and from 30° to 160° with equipment whose efficiency and solid angle could be accurately determined. The abrupt flattening of the observed cross section in the region forward of 40° is due to "photoelectric ejection" of pions from the cloud surrounding the nucleon. The results are compared to the theory of photo-production derived from the dispersion relations, and the agreement is satisfactory within the limitations of the theory.

Measurements have been made of the ratio of the π+ photoproduction cross sections at right angles to and along the electric field vector. Data have been taken at 45°, 90°, and 135° at energies of 227, 240, 342, and 373 MeV. A comparison of the data with the predictions of a phenomenological analysis using only S and P waves shows less than 0.1% chance of obtaining such results without the inclusion of higher angular momenta, and hence, demonstrates even more convincingly the need for a meson current term which has been indicated by other measurements. A comparison is made with the relativistic dispersion relations of McKinley which include an approximation for the γ, ρ, π coupling. At the resonance energy our polarization asymmetry is insensitive to this coupling and is in good agreement with the McKinley prediction. At lower energy the agreement is not as good but our data seem to substantiate the need for a negative γ, ρ, π coupling constant.

By selecting bremsstrahlung produced in a 0.003-in. aluminum radiator at a small angle from the original electron direction, a beam of polarized bremsstrahlung has been obtained from the Stanford linear accelerator. The variation of the polarization and intensity with angle has been studied and compared with theoretical predictions. The polarized beam has been used to study π+-meson production at 90° c.m. angle and photon energies of 242, 296, 337, and 376 Mev. The ratio of meson production along and at right angles to the electric field vector has been measured and compared with the values predicted by the relativistic dispersion relation.

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The photoproduction of charged pions from deuterium has been studied using a "monochromatic" gamma-ray beam of 292±8 Mev. The energy spectra of both positive and negative pions at the laboratory angle of 120° were determined and both agreed within experimental error with that predicted by the theory of Lax and Feshbach. The negative-to-positive ratio at 120° was 1.07±0.16, and within experimental error, was independent of meson energy. At an angle of 73° the ratio was 0.90±0.23 for 98.7 Mev mesons. The measured negative-to-positive ratio disagrees both with the simple classical picture of Brueckner and the phenomenological theory of Watson. Some results on the ratio using a bremsstrahlung beam are given.

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At the Bonn 2.5 GeV electron synchrotron the angular distribution of the target asymmetry T = (σ↑ − σ↓) (σ↑ + σ↓) for the reaction γp↑ → π + n was measured at a mean photon energy of 700 MeV and pion CM-angles from 50° to 155°. The combination of a 3 He-cryostat, polarizing the free protons in the target up to 65%, with a large acceptance magnet for pion detection led to statistical errors of the target asymmetry comparable with those of cross section measurements.