Deuteron photodisintegration by polarized photons in the region of the $d^*(2380)$

Abstract

We report the first large-acceptance measurement of the beam-spin asymmetry for deuteron photodisintegration ($\vec{\gamma} d\to pn$) in the photon energy range $400<E_{\gamma}<630$~MeV. The measurement provides important new constraints on the mechanisms of photodisintegration above the delta resonance and on the photocoupling of the recently discovered $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark.