Total photoabsorption cross section for 4 He from 200 to 800 MeV

The total photoabsorption cross section for ${}^{4}$He has been measured for the first time over a wide photon energy range (200 MeV$l~{E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}l~$800 MeV). By using the large acceptance detector DAPHNE at the tagged photon facility of the MAMI microtron in Mainz high precision results with small systematic errors were obtained. This measurement shows that ${}^{4}$He has a behavior similar to heavy nuclei and, in particular, a reduction of the cross section with respect to the lighter nuclei is found for ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}g$600 MeV.