Near-threshold Photoproduction of Phi Mesons from Deuterium
arXiv:1011.1305 · doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2010.12.065
Abstract
We report the first measurement of the differential cross section on $Ï$-meson photoproduction from deuterium near the production threshold for a proton using the CLAS detector and a tagged-photon beam in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. The measurement was carried out by a triple coincidence detection of a proton, $K^+$ and $K^-$ near the theoretical production threshold of 1.57 GeV. The extracted differential cross sections $\frac{dÏ}{dt}$ for the initial photon energy from 1.65-1.75 GeV are consistent with predictions based on a quasifree mechanism. This experiment establishes a baseline for a future experimental search for an exotic $Ï$-N bound state from heavier nuclear targets utilizing subthreshold/near-threshold production of $Ï$ mesons.