Study of the photoproduction of η-mesic nuclei on the basis of a complex potential

A mechanism of quasi-free photoproduction of η mesons on nuclei is proposed for describing the formation of the η-mesic nucleus ηA' in the photoinduced knockout reaction γ + A → ηA' + N. The calculations are performed in the impulse approximation. The compound system η-nucleus is considered in a model that uses a complex potential. The photoproduction cross sections for the η11B and η15N nuclei are calculated in the photon energy range from the reaction threshold to 1.5 GeV with the use of phenomenological amplitudes for the process γ+p → p+η. The dependence of these cross sections on the properties of η-mesic nuclei and on low-energy ηN interaction is investigated. Methods proposed previously for detecting η-mesic nuclei in the reactions under consideration are discussed. 10 refs., 4 figs