Photon-induced proton knockout from 208Pb and 12C

Cross sections have been measured for the reactions 208Pb(γ,p) and 12C(γ,p) leading to the low-lying and continuum states in 207Tl and 11B using a high energy-resolution tagged photon beam of 41 to 57 MeV. The data are compared with results obtained with the (e,e'p) reaction in the same recoil-momentum range and with various theoretical calculations. A comparison of the (e,e'p) and (γ,p) data in terms of a reduced cross section versus momentum does not show a systematic overlap of the (e,e'p) and (γ,p) results, i.e. no scaling is observed. Distorted-wave impulse-approximation (DWIA) calculations, of which the input is constrained by the (e,e'p) data, and random-phase approximation calculations (RPA) underestimate the 12C(γ,p) data by typically a factor five depending on angle and missing energy. For 208Pb the difference between the calculations and the data for the low-lying states is much less, but an increasing discrepancy between the data and the calculations is found in the continuum. The inclusion of meson-exchange currents (MEC) brings the calculations for both nuclei on average closer to the data, but MEC effects are considerably less important for 208Pb as compared to 12C. Finally, a remarkable similarity is observed between the continuum response of the (γ,p) and (e,e'p) reactions on 208Pb despite the difference in the electromagnetic couplings involved. (orig.)