The γn → π-p and γp → π+n reactions are essential probes of the transition from meson-nucleon degrees of freedom to quark-gluon degrees of feedom in exclusive processes. The cross sections of these processes are also, advantageous, for the investigation of oscillatory behavior around the quark counting prediction, since they decrease relatively slower with energy compared with other photon-induced processes. Moreover, these photoreactions in nuclei can probe the QCD nuclear filtering and color transparency effects. In this talk, I discuss the preliminary results on the γp → π+n and γn → π-p processes at a center-of-mass angle of 90° from Jefferson Lab experiment E94-104. I also discuss a new experiment in which singles γp → π+n measurement from hydrogen, and coincidence γn → π-p measurements at the quasifree kinematics from deuterium and 12 C for photon energies between 2.25 GeV to 5.8 GeV in fine steps at a center-of-mass angle of 90° are planned. The proposed measurement will allow a detailed investigation of the oscillatory scaling behavior in photopion production processes and the study of the nuclear dependence of rather mysterious oscillations with energy that previous experiments have indicated. The various nuclear and perturbative QCD approaches, ranging from Glauber theory, to quark-counting, to Sudakov-corrected independent scattering, make dramatically different predictions for the experimental outcomes.
Beam-Spin Asymmetries (Σ) in Charged Pion Photo-Production from Polarized Neutrons at Jefferson Lab
