Photoproduction of positive pions on deuterium near threshold

The ${\pi }^{+}$ photoproduction on deuterium near threshold was measured and compared to the same process in hydrogen. The cross section for deuterium was extracted with a ± 2.5% accuracy for energies ranging from 1 to 4 MeV above threshold. The comparison of our result with theoretical estimates shows that the process is correctly understood in the frame of the impulse approximation.