η MESON PRODUCTION IN PROTON-PROTON COLLISIONS AT 40 AND 72 MeV EXCESS ENERGY

Abstract

Differential cross sections for η production in proton-proton collisions at 40 and 72 MeV above threshold show that higher partial waves are necessary to describe the reaction. A simple model assuming constant production amplitudes and including most partial waves up to two units of angular momentum reproduces the data rather well, and also describes the invariant mass distributions found at 15.5 MeV excess energy.