Vector meson production, pion photoproduction, and vector meson dominance

Abstract

The vector meson dominance hypothesis can be formulated covariantly in terms of invariant amplitudes. This method, which has been successfully used to predict π −p→ ϱ on from pion photoproduction, is extended to include ω production and charged ϱ production. With the introduction of only two further parameters to describe the mass dependence of the ϱωπ coupling, a unified description of vector meson production and pion photoproduction is obtained.