Proton Compton Scattering and Neutral-Pion Photoproduction at Large Angles

Abstract

The differential cross sections for $\ensuremath{\gamma}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}p$ and $\ensuremath{\gamma}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}p$ have been measured from $|t|=0.7 \mathrm{to} 4.3$ Ge${\mathrm{V}}^{2}$ and for incident energies in the range 2 to 6 GeV. The energy dependence of Compton scattering is well described by parton model ideas. However, the energy dependences of ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ photoproduction and the ratio of Compton scattering to ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ photoproduction are not consistent with dimensional counting arguments.