Disintegration of the Deuteron byπ+Mesons and the Spin of theπ+Meson

The total cross section for the reaction ${\pi }^{+}+d\to p+p$ has been measured for an average incident meson energy of 23 Mev. This corresponds to a proton energy of 340 Mev in the inverse reaction $p+p\to {\pi }^{+}+d$ for which the total cross section has been measured by Richman, Cartwright, Peterson, and others. Comparison of these two cross sections, using the theorem of detailed balancing, leads to a determination of the statistical weight, and hence the spin, of the ${\pi }^{+}$ meson. The spin turns out to be zero.