Near-threshold photoproduction of η-mesons from the deuteron

The first measurement of incoherent η-photoproduction from the deuteron in the threshold region is reported. The experiment was carried out at the MAMI accelerator with the TAPS spectrometer. Total and differential inclusive cross sections have been obtained between 627 and 790 MeV. It is found that the reaction is completely dominated by the incoherent part. An upper limit for coherent η-photoproduction on the deuteron is deduced, which is substantially lower than the result from an earlier measurement. The incoherent cross section is reproduced in a participant-spectator approach under the assumption of an energy-independent ratio between the neutron and proton cross sections. Best agreement is found for the ratio σnσp ≈ 23. The implications for the isospin components of the electromagnetic excitation of the S11(1535) resonance are discussed.