Role of pion exchange inηmeson photoproduction on the deuteron

Incoherent $\ensuremath{\eta}$ photoproduction on the deuteron is studied, with the main emphasis on the role of final-state interactions. In addition to the previously studied mechanisms of $NN$ and $\ensuremath{\eta}N$ rescatterings, the role of an intermediate pion exchange is considered in detail, where first a pion is photoproduced on one nucleon and then rescatters into an $\ensuremath{\eta}$ meson on the other, the spectator nucleon. It is found that the role of this pion-mediated contribution is comparable in size to that of $\ensuremath{\eta}N$ rescattering. Results for total and semi-inclusive differential cross sections and associated polarization observables are presented. In pa…