Coherent photoproduction of eta-mesons off 3He - search for eta-mesic nuclei

Abstract

Coherent photoproduction of $η$-mesons off $^3$He, i.e. the reaction $γ^3{He}\rightarrow η^3{He}$, has been investigated in the near-threshold region. The experiment was performed at the Glasgow tagged photon facility of the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the combined Crystal Ball - TAPS detector. Angular distributions and the total cross section were measured using the $η\rightarrow γγ$ and $η\rightarrow 3π^0\rightarrow 6γ$ decay channels. The observed extremely sharp rise of the cross section at threshold and the behavior of the angular distributions are evidence for a strong $η{^3{He}}$ final state interaction, pointing to the existence of a resonant state. The search for further evidence of this state in the excitation function of $π^0$-proton back-to-back emission in the $γ^3{He}\rightarrow π^0 pX$ reaction revealed a very complicated structure of the background and could not support previous conclusions.

accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B