Photodisintegration of the deuteron with polarized photons from LEGS

An experiment is described which will measure the d(..gamma..,p) reaction with polarized photon beams from LEGS ranging in energy from 50 MeV to 530 MeV. The data will yield a new high-resolution high-statistics determination of the total unpolarized cross section, will isolate for the first time the polarization dependent part of the reaction, and will measure the photon-beam asymmetry with much higher resolution and accuracy than available from existing data. These will provide one of the most stringent tests for models of the nuclear force. In addition, high-resolution data will be taken with both linear and circularly-polarized ..gamma.. rays to search for the effects of bibaryons.