Photoproduction of scalar mesons on protons and nuclei

Abstract

We study the photoproduction of scalar mesons close to the threshold of f_0(980) and a_0(980) using a unitary chiral model. Peaks for both resonances show up in the invariant mass distributions of pairs of pseudoscalar mesons. A discussion is made on the photoproduction of these resonances in nuclei, which can shed light on their nature, a subject of continuous debate.

Comments: 25 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys Rev C