Photoproduction ofπ0Mesons from Hydrogen near Zero Degrees

We report measurements of the differential cross section for photoproduction of ${\pi }^0$ mesons from hydrogen, with the pion emerging near 0 deg, in the photon energy range 290 to 700 MeV. The results show no unusual behavior of the cross section in the forward direction. They are consistent with the angular distribution characteristic of a magnetic-dipole transition to a $P_{\frac{3}{2}}$ state. The results agree reasonably well with theoretical predictions of Gourdin and Salin, but disagree with a prediction of DeTollis and Verganelakis. Least-squares fits in powers of $cos\theta$ have been made to the available angular distributions.