π0Photoproduction from Hydrogen at Backward Angles

Cross sections for ${\pi }^0$ photoproduction from hydrogen in the backward direction have been measured for photon energies of 6, 8, 12, and 18 GeV. The range of momentum transfer covered in these measurements is $-1\mathrm{} {\left(\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c}\right)}^2<u<\mathrm{}0\mathrm{}{\left(\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c}\right)}^2$, $\frac{d\sigma }{\mathrm{du}}$ is found to have a backward peak and decreases with energy as $s^{-3.0\mathrm{}\pm 0.2}$. Photoproduction of ${\eta }^0$ and ${\rho }^0$ mesons has also been observed.