Observation of coherent $π^0$ electroproduction on deuterons at large momentum transfer

Abstract

The first experimental results for coherent $π^0$-electroproduction on the deuteron, $e+d\to e+d +π^0$, at large momentum transfer, are reported. The experiment was performed at Jefferson Laboratory at an incident electron energy of 4.05 GeV. A large pion production yield has been observed in a kinematical region for 1.1$<Q^2<$1.8 GeV$^2$, from threshold to 200 MeV excitation energy in the $dπ^0$ system. The $Q^2$-dependence is compared with theoretical predictions.

26 pages