Photoproduction of π0π0 - and π0π+ -pairs off the proton from threshold to the second resonance region

Abstract

Precise total cross-sections and invariant-mass distributions have been measured for photoproduction of pion pairs off the proton producing $p\pi^0\pi^0$ and $n\pi^+\pi^0$ final states from the threshold region up to 800 MeV incident photon energy. Additionally, beam helicity asymmetries have been measured in the second resonance region (550 MeV - 820 MeV). The experiment was performed at the tagged photon beam of the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the Crystal Ball and TAPS detectors combined to give an almost 4$\pi$ solid-angle electromagnetic calorimeter. The results are much more precise than any previous measurements and confirm the chiral perturbation theory predictions for the threshold behavior of these reactions. In the second resonance region, the invariant-mass distributions of meson-meson and meson-nucleon pairs are in reasonable agreement with model predictions, but none of the models reproduce the asymmetries for the mixed-charge channel.