Differential cross sections of neutral pion photoproduction from hydrogen in the energy region from 390 MeV to 975 MeV

Abstract The differential cross sections of the reaction γ p→ π 0 p have been measured at photon energies between 390 MeV and 975 MeV with an energy step of 20 or 25 MeV. The angular region covers 11 angles between 15° and 130° in the c.m.s. A combination of a magnetic spectrometer and photon detector was used for the measurement in the angular region from 50° to 130°. At forward angles of 15°, 35° and 50°, π 0 mesons were detected using a π 0 detector consisting of a pair of photon detectors. The data obtained with two different detection systems overlap at the angle of 50° and coincide with each other within the experimental error. The results are compared with those of phenomenological partial-wave analyses.