In a study of the production mechanism of quasi-two-body final states at the five incident π+ momenta 2.95, 3.2, 3.5, 3.75, and 4.08 GeV/c, approximately 40 000 events with four outgoing charged particles were investigated. The cross sections for the processes π+p→N*++ρ, π+p→N*++ω, π+p→N*++η, and π+p→N*++f have been measured as a function of the pion energy. The differential cross sections and the decay density-matrix elements are discussed in terms of one-meson-exchange models [with absorption (OPEA) and with form factor (OPEW)] and Regge models. For the N*++ρ and the N*++ω reactions, the joint-decay matrix elements are calculated. The formation of N*(2850) in the direct channel is also investigated.

We have measured the total inelastic cross section (σinel) and charged-particle multiplicities obtained in pp collisions at 405 GeV/c. The data are from a preliminary 12 000-picture bubble-chamber exposure. We find σinel=32.8±1.0 mb; the low moments of the multiplicity distribution for negative particles are 〈n−〉=3.50±0.07, D−=2.37±0.05, f2−=2.1±0.2, and f3−=0.1±0.9. We also present updated results at 102 GeV/c.

The exclusive photoproduction of J/psi mesons, gamma p->J/psi p, has been studied in ep collisions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, in the kinematic range 20<W<290 GeV, where W is the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy. The J/psi mesons were reconstructed in the muon and the electron decay channels using integrated luminosities of 38 pb^-1 and 55 pb^-1, respectively. The helicity structure of J/psi production shows that the hypothesis of s-channel helicity conservation is satisfied at the two standard-deviation level. The total cross section and the differential cross-section dsigma/dt, where t is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, are presented as a function of W, for |t|<1.8 GeV^2. The t distribution exhibits an exponential shape with a slope parameter increasing logarithmically with W with a value b=4.15 \pm 0.05 (stat.)^{+0.30}_{-0.18} (syst.) GeV^-2 at W=90 GeV. The effective parameters of the Pomeron trajectory are alphapom(0) = 1.200 \pm 0.009(stat.)^{+0.004}_{-0.010}(syst.) and alphappom= 0.115 \pm 0.018(stat.)^{+0.008}_{-0.015}(syst.) GeV^-2.

We have studied photoproduction using a 1 m streamer chamber at DESY and a tagged photon beam with an energy range of 1.6 GeV < E γ < 6.3 GeV. We analysed approximately 30 000 events and report topological, channel and resonance production cross sections for a large number of reactions with three and five outgoing charged particles.

Exclusive rho^0 electroproduction at HERA has been studied with the ZEUS detector using 120 pb^{-1} of integrated luminosity collected during 1996-2000. The analysis was carried out in the kinematic range of photon virtuality 2 < Q^2 < 160 GeV$^2, and gamma^* p centre-of-mass energy 32 < W < 180 GeV. The results include the Q^2 and W dependence of the gamma^* p --> rho^0 p cross section and the distribution of the squared-four-momentum transfer to the proton. The helicity analysis of the decay-matrix elements of the rho^0 was used to study the ratio of the gamma^* p cross section for longitudinal and transverse photon as a function of Q^2 and W. Finally, an effective Pomeron trajectory was extracted. The results are compared to various theoretical predictions.

Diffractive electroproduction of rho and phi mesons is measured at HERA with the H1 detector in the elastic and proton dissociative channels. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 51 pb^-1. About 10500 rho and 2000 phi events are analysed in the kinematic range of squared photon virtuality 2.5 &lt; Q^2 &lt; 60 GeV^2, photon-proton centre of mass energy 35 &lt; W &lt; 180 GeV and squared four-momentum transfer to the proton |t| &lt; 3 GeV^2. The total, longitudinal and transverse cross sections are measured as a function of Q^2, W and |t|. The measurements show a transition to a dominantly "hard" behaviour, typical of high gluon densities and small q\bar{q} dipoles, for Q^2 larger than 10 to 20 GeV^2. They support flavour independence of the diffractive exchange, expressed in terms of the scaling variable (Q^2 + M_V^2)/4, and proton vertex factorisation. The spin density matrix elements are measured as a function of kinematic variables. The ratio of the longitudinal to transverse cross sections, the ratio of the helicity amplitudes and their relative phases are extracted. Several of these measurements have not been performed before and bring new information on the dynamics of diffraction in a QCD framework. The measurements are discussed in the context of models using generalised parton distributions or universal dipole cross sections.

The cross section for the diffractive deep-inelastic scattering process $ep \to e X p$ is measured, with the leading final state proton detected in the H1 Forward Proton Spectrometer. The data analysed cover the range \xpom &lt;0.1 in fractional proton longitudinal momentum loss, 0.08 &lt; |t| &lt; 0.5 GeV^{-2} in squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, 2 &lt; Q^2 &lt; 50 GeV^2 in photon virtuality and 0.004 &lt; \beta = x / \xpom &lt; 1, where x is the Bjorken scaling variable. For $\xpom \lapprox 10^{-2}$, the differential cross section has a dependence of approximately ${\rm d} \sigma / {\rm d} t \propto e^{6 t}$, independently of \xpom, \beta and Q^2 within uncertainties. The cross section is also measured triple differentially in \xpom, \beta and Q^2. The \xpom dependence is interpreted in terms of an effective pomeron trajectory with intercept $\alpha_{\pom}(0)=1.114 \pm 0.018 ({\rm stat.}) \pm 0.012 ({\rm syst.}) ^{+0.040}_{-0.020} ({\rm model})$ and a sub-leading exchange. The data are in good agreement with an H1 measurement for which the event selection is based on a large gap in the rapidity distribution of the final state hadrons, after accounting for proton dissociation contributions in the latter. Within uncertainties, the dependence of the cross section on x and Q^2 can thus be factorised from the dependences on all studied variables which characterise the proton vertex, for both the pomeron and the sub-leading exchange.

The exclusive electroproduction of J/psi mesons, ep->epJ/psi, has been studied with the ZEUS detector at HERA for virtualities of the exchanged photon in the ranges 0.15<Q^2<0.8 GeV^2 and 2<Q^2<100 GeV^2 using integrated luminosities of 69 pb^-1 and 83 pb^-1, respectively.The photon-proton centre-of-mass energy was in the range 30<W<220 GeV and the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex |t|<1.The cross sections and decay angular distributions are presented as functions of Q^2, W and t. The effective parameters of the Pomeron trajectory are in agreement with those found in J/psi photoproduction. The spin-density matrix elements, calculated from the decay angular distributions, are consistent with the hypothesis of s-channel helicity conservation. The ratio of the longitudinal to transverse cross sections, sigma_L/sigma_T, grows with Q^2, whilst no dependence on W or t is observed. The results are in agreement with perturbative QCD calculations and exhibit a strong sensitivity to the gluon distribution in the proton.

Deeply virtual Compton scattering has been measured in e^+p collisions at HERA with the ZEUS detector using an integrated luminosity of 61.1 pb^-1. Cross sections are presented as a function of the photon virtuality, Q^2, and photon-proton centre-of-mass energy, W, for a wide region of the phase space, Q^2>~1.5 GeV^2 and 40&lt;W&lt;170 GeV. A subsample of events in which the scattered proton is measured in the leading proton spectrometer, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 31.3 pb^-1, is used for the first direct measurement of the differential cross section as a function of t, where t is the square of the four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex.

Cross sections for elastic production of J/Psi mesons in photoproduction and electroproduction are measured in electron proton collisions at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 55 pb^{-1}. Results are presented for photon virtualities Q^2 up to 80 GeV^2. The dependence on the photon-proton centre of mass energy W_{gamma p} is analysed in the range 40 < \Wgp < 305 GeV in photoproduction and 40 < \Wgp < 160 GeV in electroproduction. The \Wgp dependences of the cross sections do not change significantly with Q^2 and can be described by models based on perturbative QCD. Within such models, the data show a high sensitivity to the gluon density of the proton in the domain of low Bjorken x and low Q^2. Differential cross sections d\sigma/dt, where t is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, are measured in the range |t|<1.2 GeV^2 as functions of \Wgp and Q^2. Effective Pomeron trajectories are determined for photoproduction and electroproduction. The J/Psi production and decay angular distributions are consistent with s-channel helicity conservation. The ratio of the cross sections for longitudinally and transversely polarised photons is measured as a function of Q^2 and is found to be described by perturbative QCD based models.