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.

The differential cross sections for γ p→ π + n from hydrogen and the π − π + ratios from deuterium were measured at nine c.m. angles between 30° and 150° for laboratory photon energies between 260 and 800 MeV. A magnetic spectrometer with three layers of scintillation hodoscope was used to detect charged π mesons. The cross section for γ n→ π − p was obtained as a product of d σ d Ω (γ p →π + n ) and the π − π + ratio. The overall features in the cross sections of the two reactions, γ p→ π + n and γ n→ π − p, and in the ratios, π − π + , agree with predictions by Moorhouse, Oberlack and Rosenfeld, and Metcalf and Walker. An investigation of the possible existence of an isotensor current was made and a negative result was found. In detailed balance comparison with the new results on the inverse reaction π − p→ γ n, no apparent violation of time-reversal invariance was observed.

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.

The excitation functions for positive pion production from hydrogen have been obtained in the energy region from 230 Mev to 450 Mev and at laboratory pion angles of 24°, 38°, 53°, 73°, 93°, 115°, 140°, and 160°. The pions are detected and identified by measuring their range and ionization in a scintillation counter telescope. The above data are analyzed to give the angular distributions in the center-of-momentum system, and a least-squares analysis made to determine coefficients in σ(θ)=A+Bcosθ+Ccos2θ. The total cross section shows a peak at 300 Mev of magnitude 2.20×10−28 cm2. The coefficient B passes through a maximum negative value at 250 Mev and then passes through zero at 325 Mev and remains positive up to the highest energy measured.

Positive pions produced in a cold, high-pressure hydrogen gas target by the 500-Mev bremsstrahlung of the CalTech synchrotron, have been analyzed by a large magnetic spectrometer. The photoproduction cross section has been measured as a function of photon energy at laboratory angles of 12.5°, 30°, 51°, 73°, 104°, 140°, and 180°. The energy region covered depends somewhat on the angle, but is typically from 200 to 470 Mev. From these excitation curves the angular distribution of the photopions in the center of momentum system is obtained for various photon energies, and these angular distributions are analyzed in the form A+Bcosθ+Ccos2θ. The angular distribution has a backward maximum at low energies and a forward maximum at high energies, the coefficient B changing sign at about 340 Mev. The total cross section shows a striking maximum near 290 Mev, of magnitude 205×10−30 cm2, and falls off above the maximum faster than λ2.

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The target asymmetry T = ( σ ↑ − σ ↓)/( σ ↑ + σ ↓) for the reaction γ p → π + n has been measured at the Bonn 2.5 GeV electron synchrotron for a pion c.m. angle of 40° and γ energies between 0.5 and 2.2 GeV. Butanol was used as the target material. About 35% of the protons could be polarized using the dynamic-polarization method in a continuous-flow cryostat operating at 1°K and 25 kG. The π + mesons were detected in a magnetic-spectrometer system. Considerable structure in the asymmetry was observed.

Pions from the reaction γ + p → π + + n were analysed in the backward direction by a magnetic spectrometer. The photon energy region of 0.394 GeV to 1.397 GeV was covered by 19 different momentum settings. Data reduction resulted in 74 measured differential cross sections with statistical uncertainties typically from 4% to 8%. The systematic uncertainty was estimated to be ±5%. The data are compared to other recent experiments and predictions of phenomenological analyses.

The π+ photoproduction cross section in hydrogen has been measured at 180° for photon energies from 0.22 to 3.1 GeV by detecting the pion in the backward direction. The statistical accuracy of the measurements varies typically from 3 to 10% depending on the energy. The data are compared with other recent experimental results and predictions of phenomenological theories.