Photodisintegration of the deuteron d(γ, p)n in the Δ resonance region

Abstract The process γ d → np has been studied in the Δ resonance region with explicit Δ degrees of freedom in a coupled channel treatment including all final state interactions. The total cross section for this process is considerably reduced by the correct Δ dynamics resulting in an improved agreement with a recent experiment. The angular distributions show a more forward-backward asymmetry than seen in experiment. Whereas the γ -asymmetry is little affected by the coupled channel calculation compared to the impulse approximation, the proton polarization depends sensitively on the proper treatment of the Δ degrees of freedom.