Regge-Pole Model for the Photoproduction of Vector Mesons

A detailed analysis of the vector-dominance model for photoproduction of vector mesons and Compton scattering is presented. It is shown that the vector-dominance model of Compton scattering is consistent with the findings of Abarbanel et al. that a fixed pole is necessary at nonsense value of the angular momentum in the amplitudes for Compton scattering. Good diffraction patterns for the photoproduction of ${\rho }^0$ and $\omega$ are obtained. It is found from the differential cross section for $\omega$ production that the value $\frac{x_{\omega }}{x_{\rho }}\approx \frac{1}{3}$, where $x_V$ is the $\gamma -V$ coupling, is in better agreement with experiment than its estimate from the model of Oakes and Sakurai. Predictions for the angular distribution of photoproduced vector mesons at higher energies ($E_{\gamma }\approx 18$ GeV) are made.