Photoproduction ofϕ0Mesons from Hydrogen and Carbon by Linearly Polarized Photons

Results are presented on the forward photoproduction of ${\varphi }^0$ mesons from hydrogen and carbon by linearly polarized photons from coherent bremsstrahlung produced by 10-GeV electrons on a diamond crystal. The polarization asymmetry has been measured at an average energy $〈E_{\varphi }〉=5.7\mathrm{}$ GeV. The asymmetry from carbon is consistent with a diffractive production process. The asymmetry from hydrogen seems to be inconsistent with a purely diffractive production process even after consideration of inelastic contributions to the forward ${\varphi }^0$ production.