Eta photoproduction in a combined analysis of pion- and photon-induced reactions

Abstract

The $ηN$ final state is isospin-selective and thus provides access to the spectrum of excited nucleons without being affected by excited $Δ$ states. To this end, the world database on eta photoproduction off the proton up to a center-of-mass energy of $E\sim 2.3$ GeV is analyzed, including data on differential cross sections, and single and double polarization observables. The resonance spectrum and its properties are determined in a combined analysis of eta and pion photoproduction off the proton together with the reactions $πN\to πN$, $ηN$, $KΛ$ and $KΣ$. For the analysis, the so-called Jülich coupled-channel framework is used, incorporating unitarity, analyticity, and effective three-body channels. Parameters tied to photoproduction and hadronic interactions are varied simultaneously. The influence of recent MAMI $T$ and $F$ asymmetry data on the eta photoproduction amplitude is discussed in detail.