The isospin structure of photoproduction of πη pairs from the nucleon in the threshold region

Photoproduction of πη -pairs from nucleons has been investigated from threshold up to incident photon energies of ≈ 1.4 GeV. The quasi-free reactions γp→pπ0η , γn→nπ0η , γp→nπ+η , and γn→pπ−η were for the first time measured from nucleons bound in the deuteron. The corresponding reactions from a free-proton target were also studied to investigate final-state interaction effects (for neutral pions the free-proton results could be compared to previous measurements; the γp→nπ+η reaction was measured for the first time). For the π0η final state coherent production via the γd→dπ0η reaction was also investigated. The experiments were performed at the tagged photon beam of the Mainz MAMI accelerator using an almost 4 π coverage electromagnetic calorimeter composed of the Crystal Ball and TAPS detectors. The total cross sections for the four different final states obey the relation σ(pπ0η)≈σ(nπ0η)≈2σ(pπ−η)≈2σ(nπ+η) as expected for a dominant contribution from a Δ⋆→ηΔ(1232)→πηN reaction chain, which is also supported by the shapes of the invariant-mass distributions of nucleon–meson and π – η pairs. The experimental results are compared to the predictions from an isobar reaction model

<math altimg="si1.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><mi>Λ</mi></math> and <math altimg="si2.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>Σ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup></math> photoproduction with fine center-of-mass energy resolution

Measurements of <math altimg="si3.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>γ</mi><mi>p</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><mi>Λ</mi></math> and <math altimg="si4.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>γ</mi><mi>p</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>Σ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup></math> cross-sections have been obtained with the photon tagging facility and the Crystal Ball calorimeter at MAMI-C. The measurement uses a novel <math altimg="si5.gif" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math> meson identification technique in which the weak decay products are characterized using the energy and timing characteristics of the energy deposit in the calorimeter, a method that has the potential to be applied at many other facilities. The fine center-of-mass energy ( W ) resolution and statistical accuracy of the new data results in a significant impact on partial wave analyses aiming to better establish the excitation spectrum of the nucleon. The new analyses disfavor a strong role for quark–diquark dynamics in the nucleon