We study the process $e^+e^-\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-\gamma$, with a hard photon radiated from the initial state. About 60,000 fully reconstructed events have been selected from 89 $fb^{-1}$ of BaBar data. The invariant mass of the hadronic final state defines the effective \epem center-of-mass energy, so that these data can be compared with the corresponding direct $e^+e^-$ measurements. From the $4\pi$-mass spectrum, the cross section for the process $e^+e^-\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$ is measured for center-of-mass energies from 0.6 to 4.5 $GeV/c^2$. The uncertainty in the cross section measurement is typically 5%. We also measure the cross sections for the final states $K^+ K^- \pi^+\pi^-$ and $K^+ K^- K^+ K^-$. We observe the $J/\psi$ in all three final states and measure the corresponding branching fractions. We search for X(3872) in $J/\psi (\to\mu^+\mu^-) \pi^+\pi^-$ and obtain an upper limit on the product of the $e^+e^-$ width of the X(3872) and the branching fraction for $X(3872) \to J/\psi\pi^+\pi^-$.

We study the processes e+ e- --> 3(pi+pi-)gamma, 2(pi+pi-pi0)gamma and K+ K- 2(pi+pi-)gamma, with the photon radiated from the initial state. About 20,000, 33,000 and 4,000 fully reconstructed events, respectively, have been selected from 232 fb-1 of BaBar data. The invariant mass of the hadronic final state defines the effective e+e- center-of-mass energy, so that these data can be compared with the corresponding direct e+e- measurements. From the 3(pi+pi-), 2(pi+pi-pi0) and K+ K- 2(pi+pi-) mass spectra, the cross sections for the processes e+ e- --> 3(pi+pi-), e+ e- --> 2(pi+pi-pi0) and e+ e- --> K+ K- 2(pi+pi-) are measured for center-of-mass energies from production threshold to 4.5 GeV. The uncertainty in the cross section measurement is typically 6-15%. We observe the J/psi in all these final states and measure the corresponding branching fractions.

Multihadron production by electron-positron colliding beams has been investigated for total centre-of-mass energies ranging from 1.2 to 2.4 GeV. The total cross-section, σtot ≡ σ(e+e−→π+π−+ + anything), is of the order of σμμ ≡ σ(e+e−→μ+μ−), with a threshold near 1 GeV. Partial cross-sections for the various channels are also derived. The cross-section of the specific channel e+e−→π+π−π+π− exhibits an energy dependence which is suggestive of a heavier vector meson, ρ' (mρ,≈ 1.6 GeV,Гρ, ≈ 350 Mev), having the same quantum numbers as the ρ-meson. An upper limit is given for the coupling constantfρ′ (fρ′/4π<18, wherefρ′=mρ′2e/gγρ′). Final states withG+ parity are found to be much more abundant than those withG− parity. The average multiplicity (charged plus neutral final-state pions) is found to be betweet 4 and 5 over all the energy range explored.

Data are presented for the reaction ep → ep π 0 at a nominal four-momentum transfer squared of 0.5 (GeV/ c ) 2 . The data were obtained using an extracted electron beam from NINA and two magnetic spectrometers for coincidence detection of the electron and proton. Details are given of the experimental method and the results are given for isobar masses in the range 1.19 – 1.73 GeV/ c 2 .

The differential cross sections of the proton Compton scattering around the second resonance have been measured at a c.m. angle of 90° for incident photon energies between 450 MeV and 950 MeV in steps of 50 MeV, and at an angle of 60° for energies between 600 MeV and 800 MeV. The results show that the peak of the 2nd resonance agrees with that of the pion photoproduction process. We also calculated the proton Compton scattering based on unitarity and fixed- t dispersion relations. The calculation describes well the data of the cross section and the recoil proton polarization.

The polarized target asymmetry in the reaction γ p → π 0 p has been measured at c.m. angles of 30°, 80°, 105° and 120° for incident photon energies below 1 GeV. Two decay photons from π 0 were detected in coincidence at 30°, and at the other angles recoil protons and single photons from π 0 were detected. The results are compared with recent phenomenological analyses.

The polarized target asymmetry for the process γ p → π + n has been measured for incident photon energies below 1.02 GeV over a range of c.m. angles from 40° to 160°. π + mesons from a polarized butanol target were detected by a magnetic spectrometer. The results are compared with predictions given by existing analyses. A tentative interpretation of the data is performed, and a larger contribution of S-wave resonances is suggested. The photocouplings of dominant resonances were hardly changed by the inclusion of new data and they seem to be almost uniquely determined.

The polarized target asymmetry in the reaction γp→π°p has been measured at c.m. angles around 100° for photon energies between 0.4 and 1.0 GeV by detecting both the recoil proton and the π°. The result is compared with recent analyses.

The polarized target asymmetry for γ + p → π + + n was measured at c.m. angles around 130° for the energy range between 0.3 and 1.0 GeV. A magnetic spectrometer system was used to detect π + mesons from the polarized butanol target. The data show two prominent positive peaks at 0.4 and 0.8 GeV and a deep minimum at 0.6 GeV. These features are well reproduced by the phenomenological analysis made by us.

Differential cross sections for Compton scattering by the proton have been measured in the energy interval between 200 and 500 MeV at scattering angles of θ cms = 75° and θ cms = 90° using the CATS, the CATS/TRAJAN, and the COPP setups with the Glasgow Tagger at MAMI (Mainz). The data are compared with predictions from dispersion theory using photo-meson amplitudes from the recent VPI solution SM95. The experiment and the theoretical procedure are described in detail. It is found that the experiment and predictions are in agreement as far as the energy dependence of the differential cross sections in the Δ-range is concerned. However, there is evidence that a scaling down of the resonance part of the M 1+ 3 2 photo-meson amplitude by (2.8 ± 0.9)% is required in comparison with the VPI analysis. The deduced value of the M 1+ 3 2 - photoproduction amplitude at the resonance energy of 320 MeV is: |M 1+ 3 2 | = (39.6 ± 0.4) × 10 −3 m π + −1 .