The differential cross section for the reaction γ+p→π+n was measured at 19 photon energies between 300 and 750 MeV in the laboratory frame, for pion angles between 0° and 130° in the c.m. system. The pions were analyzed in angle and momentum with a magnetic spectrometer and detected by a counter telescope. The 0° measurements could be achieved, in spite of the excessive positron rate, owing to a mass-spectrometer arrangement. No direct indication for the electromagnetic excitation of the P11 resonance (1466 MeV) was found. Comparison is made with theoretical calculations of π+ photoproduction.

First measurements of the e + e − → π + π − K + K − cross section have been performed by the DM1 on DCI in the total energy range 1.4–2.18 GeV. π + π − K + K − production is dominated by K ∗ Kπ dynamics. The cross section is rather large around 1.9 GeV. Comparison with K 0 S inclusive production shows an isospin interference. Upper limits on φππ production are compatible with the OZI rule.

First measurements of the e + e − → K S 0 K ± π ∓ reaction in the 1.4–2.18 GeV energy range have been performed with the magnetic detector DM1 at the Orsay storage rings DCI. The cross section is rather large. The production is mainly K ∗0 K 0 which reveals an interference between isovector and isoscalar amplitudes. These results show again the existence of an isoscalar vector at 1.65 GeV shown to be a φ ′ meson.

The e + e − → K + K − cross section has been measured between 1400 and 2060 MeV. About 500 K + K − events were detected in the magnetic detector DM1 at the Orsay storage rings DCI. The charged kaon form factor is appreciably higher than predicted by only the ϱ, ω, ø tails, suggesting contributions from higher vector mesons.

The e + e − → K S 0 K L 0 cross section has been measured between 1400 and 2180 MeV. About 58 K S 0 K L 0 events were in the magnetic detector DM1 at the Orsay storage ring DCI. The charged and neutral kaon form factor behaviour suggests the existence of a new isoscalar vector meson at 1.65 GeV.

The reactions e + e − → ρη , ρπ , φπ and φη have been studied with the magnetic detector DM1 at DCI in the total energy ranges between 1.4 and 2.18 GeV. The ρη signal is clearly seen. Upper limits for ρπ and φη channels as well as for the OZI forbidden φπ channel.

The e + e − → 3 π + 3 π − cross section has been measured between 1400 and 2180 MeV with the magnetic detector DM1 at the Orsay storage rings DCI. The cross section increases continuously above 1600 MeV and reaches 2 nb at the maximum explored energy, much larger than VDM previous estimates.

Results are presented on the exclusive production of four-prong final states in photon-photon collisions from the TPC/Two-Gamma detector at the SLAC e+e− storage ring PEP. Measurement of dE/dx and momentum in the time-projection chamber (TPC) provides identification of the final states 2π+2π−, K+K−π+π−, and 2K+2K−. For two quasireal incident photons, both the 2π+2π− and K+K−π+π− cross sections show a steep rise from threshold to a peak value, followed by a decrease at higher mass. Cross sections for the production of the final states ρ0ρ0, ρ0π+π−, and φπ+π− are presented, together with upper limits for φρ0, φφ, and K*0K¯ *0. The ρ0ρ0 contribution dominates the four-pion cross section at low masses, but falls to nearly zero above 2 GeV. Such behavior is inconsistent with expectations from vector dominance but can be accommodated by four-quark resonance models or by t-channel factorization. Angular distributions for the part of the data dominated by ρ0ρ0 final states are consistent with the production of JP=2+ or 0+ resonances but also with isotropic (nonresonant) production. When one of the virtual photons has mass (mγ2=-Q2≠0), the four-pion cross section is still dominated by ρ0ρ0 at low final-state masses Wγγ and by 2π+2π− at higher mass. Further, the dependence of the cross section on Q2 becomes increasingly flat as Wγγ increases.

A precise measurement of the differential cross section at zero degrees for the pion charge-exchange reaction π−p→π0n at pπ=522 MeV/c has been made. The result is dσdΩ (0∘)=4.32±0.11 mb/sr.

We have observed exclusive production of K + K − and K S O K S O pairs and the excitation of the f′(1515) tensor meson in photon-photon collisions. Assuming the f′ to be production in a helicity 2 state, we determine Λ( f ′ → γγ) B( f ′ → K K ) = 0.11 ± 0.02 ± 0.04 keV . The non-strange quark of the f′ is found to be less than 3% (95% CL). For the θ(1640) we derive an upper limit for the product Λ(θ rarr; γγ K K ) < 0.03 keV (95% CL ) .

Differential cross-section measurements for π − p → γ n, consisting of three angular distributions at 618, 676 and 718 MeV/ c , and the energy dependence at θ γ = 90° for seven incident pion momenta between 502 and 888 MeV/ c , are presented. Our data qualitatively support recent multipole analyses. Agreement with the Scheffler et al. results for the inverse reaction, γ n → π − p, using a ( π − -recoil p) coincidence technique is good excluding a large violation of time reversal invariance. The agreement with γ n → π − p data obtained using the R ( π − / π + ) ratio technique or a deuterium bubble chamber is only qualitative.

The total electromagnetic cross sections of g-rays in hydrogen and deuterium have been measured over the energy range 265–4215 MeV using a photon tagging system. From these measurements, the total pair production cross sections are obtained, and the results are found to be in good agreement with the predictions of Jost, Luttinger and Slotnick.

The total cross section for photoproduction of hadrons on the deutron, σ T d , has been measured for photon energies in the range 0.265–40215 GeV. From this, using results for the photon total cross section, obtained previously with the same apparatus, the neutron total cross section has been determined in the resonance region. The resonant structure is found to be quite different from that for the proton. Thereafter the neutron cross section falls off steadily with energy, and the values obtained are consistently lower than those for the proton. Forward scattering amplitudes have been evaluated for the deuteron.

We study the processes e+ e- --> 3(pi+pi-)gamma, 2(pi+pi-pi0)gamma and K+ K- 2(pi+pi-)gamma, with the photon radiated from the initial state. About 20,000, 33,000 and 4,000 fully reconstructed events, respectively, have been selected from 232 fb-1 of BaBar data. The invariant mass of the hadronic final state defines the effective e+e- center-of-mass energy, so that these data can be compared with the corresponding direct e+e- measurements. From the 3(pi+pi-), 2(pi+pi-pi0) and K+ K- 2(pi+pi-) mass spectra, the cross sections for the processes e+ e- --> 3(pi+pi-), e+ e- --> 2(pi+pi-pi0) and e+ e- --> K+ K- 2(pi+pi-) are measured for center-of-mass energies from production threshold to 4.5 GeV. The uncertainty in the cross section measurement is typically 6-15%. We observe the J/psi in all these final states and measure the corresponding branching fractions.

The production of charged kaon pairs in two-photon interactions has been studied with the ARGUS detector and the topological cross section has been measured. The γγ-widths and interference parameters have been determined for the tensor mesonsf2 (1270),a2 (1318) andf′2 (1525). The helicity structure assumed for the continuum contribution has a significant effect on the result. Upper limits have been obtained for the γγ-widths of the glueball candidate statesf2 (1720) andX (2230).

An analysis of the production ofKS0KS0 andK±Ks0π∓ by two quasi-real photons is presented. The cross section forγγ→K0\(\overline {K^0 } \), which is given for the γγ invariant mass range fromK\(\bar K\) threshold to 2.5 GeV, is dominated by thef′(1525) resonance and an enhancement near theK\(\bar K\) threshold. Upper limits on the product of the two-photon width times the branching ratio intoK\(\bar K\) pairs are given forΘ(1700),h(2030), and ξ(2220). For exclusive two-photon production ofK±Ks0π∓ no significant signal was observed. Upper limits are given on the cross section ofγγ→K+\(\overline {K^0 } \)π− orK−K0π+ between 1.4 and 3.2 GeV and on the product of the γγ width times the branching ratio into theK\(\bar K\)π final states for theηc(2980) and the ι(1440), yieldingΓ(γγ)→i(1440))·BR(i(1440)→K\(\bar K\)π<2.2 keV at 95% C.L.

We report measurements of the two-photon processes e+e−→e+e−π+π− and e+e−→e+e−K+K−, at an e+e− center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV. In the π+π− data a high-statistics analysis of the f(1270) results in a γγ width Γ(γγ→f)=3.2±0.4 keV. The π+π− continuum below the f mass is well described by a QED Born approximation, whereas above the f mass it is consistent with a QCD-model calculation if a large contribution from the f is assumed. For the K+K− data we find agreement of the high-mass continuum with the QCD prediction; limits on f′(1520) and θ(1720) formation are presented.

The process γγ→π+π−π+π− has been investigated in reactions of the typee+e−→e+e−π+π−π+π− in the single tag mode. The range of the four momentum squared of one of the virtual photons was 0.28 GeV2/c2≦Q2≦3.6 GeV2/c2, the average being 〈Q2〉=0.92 GeV2/c2; the other photon was quasi real. The reaction is mainly described by the channels γγ→ρ0ρ0 and γγ→4π (phase space), occuring with about equal probability. TheQ2-dependence of the cross section is in agreement with the ρ form factor.

Thee+e−→K+K− cross section has been measured from about 750 events in the energy interval\(1350 \leqq \sqrt s\leqq 2400 MeV\) with the DM2 detector at DCI. TheK± form factor |FF±| cannot be explained by the ρ, ω, ϕ and ρ′(1600). An additional resonant amplitude at 1650 MeV has to be added as suggested by a previous experiment.

The reactione+e−→e+e− A2 (1320) has been observed by detecting the decayA2→π+,π-π0. The two-photon width of theA2 has been measured to be Г(A2→γγ)=(0.09±0.27 (stat)±0.16 (syst)) keV. The cross section σ(γγ→π+,π-π0 has been determined outside theA2 resonance region.

We present measurements of the total production rates and momentum distributions of the charmed baryon $\Lambda_c^+$ in $e^+e^- \to$ hadrons at a center-of-mass energy of 10.54 GeV and in $\Upsilon(4S)$ decays. In hadronic events at 10.54 GeV, charmed hadrons are almost exclusively leading particles in $e^+e^- \to c\bar{c}$ events, allowing direct studies of $c$-quark fragmentation. We measure a momentum distribution for $\Lambda_c^+$ baryons that differs significantly from those measured previously for charmed mesons. Comparing with a number of models, we find none that can describe the distribution completely. We measure an average scaled momentum of $\left< x_p \right> = 0.574\pm$0.009 and a total rate of $N_{\Lambda c}^{q\bar{q}} = 0.057\pm$0.002(exp.)$\pm$0.015(BF) $\Lambda_c^+$ per hadronic event, where the experimental error is much smaller than that due to the branching fraction into the reconstructed decay mode, $pK^-\pi^+$. In $\Upsilon (4S)$ decays we measure a total rate of $N_{\Lambda c}^{\Upsilon} = 0.091\pm$0.006(exp.)$\pm$0.024(BF) per $\Upsilon(4S)$ decay, and find a much softer momentum distribution than expected from B decays into a $\Lambda_c^+$ plus an antinucleon and one to three pions.

We study the process $e^+e^-\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-\gamma$, with a hard photon radiated from the initial state. About 60,000 fully reconstructed events have been selected from 89 $fb^{-1}$ of BaBar data. The invariant mass of the hadronic final state defines the effective \epem center-of-mass energy, so that these data can be compared with the corresponding direct $e^+e^-$ measurements. From the $4\pi$-mass spectrum, the cross section for the process $e^+e^-\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$ is measured for center-of-mass energies from 0.6 to 4.5 $GeV/c^2$. The uncertainty in the cross section measurement is typically 5%. We also measure the cross sections for the final states $K^+ K^- \pi^+\pi^-$ and $K^+ K^- K^+ K^-$. We observe the $J/\psi$ in all three final states and measure the corresponding branching fractions. We search for X(3872) in $J/\psi (\to\mu^+\mu^-) \pi^+\pi^-$ and obtain an upper limit on the product of the $e^+e^-$ width of the X(3872) and the branching fraction for $X(3872) \to J/\psi\pi^+\pi^-$.

In the analysis of the reactione+e−→e+e−KS0Ks0 clear evidence for exclusive γγ→f2′ resonance production is observed. The productΓγγ ·B(f2′→K\(\bar K\)) is measured to be 0.10−0.03−0.02+0.04+0.03 keV independent of ana priori assumption on the helicity structure. Our data are consistent with a pure helicity 2 contribution and we derive an upper limit for the ratioΓγγ(0)/Γγγ. The absence of events in the mass region around 1.3 GeV clearly proves destructivef2−a2 interference and allows to measure the relative phases betweenf2,a2 andf2′. Upper limits on the production of the glueball candidate statesf2(1720) andX(2230) as well as theKS0KS0-continuum are given.

Differential cross sections of the reactions $(\gamma,\pi^\circ\pi^\circ)$ and $(\gamma,\pi^\circ\pi^++\pi^\circ\pi^-)$ have been measured for several nuclei ($^1$H,$^{12}$C, and $^{\rm nat}$Pb) at an incident-photon energy of $E_{\gamma}$=400-460 MeV at the tagged-photon facility at MAMI-B using the TAPS spectrometer. A significant nuclear-mass dependence of the $\pi\pi$ invariant-mass distribution is found in the $\pi^\circ\pi^\circ$ channel. This dependence is not observed in the $\pi^\circ\pi^{+/-}$ channel and is consistent with an in-medium modification of the $\pi\pi$ interaction in the $I$=$J$=0 channel. The data are compared to $\pi$-induced measurements and to calculations within a chiral-unitary approach.