e^+e^- production from pp reactions at BEVALAC energies

Abstract

We have performed a detailed study of dilepton production from pp collisions including the subthreshold $\rho$ production via baryonic resonances (N(1520), N(1700)) in addition to the conventional dilepton sources as ${\pi }^0,\eta ,\omega$ and $\Delta$ Dalitz decays and direct decays of vector mesons ($\rho ,\omega$). The role of baryonic resonances in $\rho$ production from nucleon-nucleon collisions is studied in comparison to the DLS data which are well described.

Comments: 19 pages, revtex, including 7 postscript figures, to be published in Nucl. Phys. A