Photoproduction of mesons off nuclei - the photonuclear programs at ELSA and MAMI

Recent results for the photoproduction of mesons from nuclei with tagged bremsstrahlung beams are summarized. The experiments have been done at the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup and at the Bonn ELSA accelerator with the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector. Two main physics topics are covered. The electromagnetic excitation spectrum of the neutron has been studied with meson photoproduction reactions off quasi-free neutrons from light nuclei. Particularly interesting results have been obtained for eta-photoproduction, where the excitation function of the neutron shows a pronounced, narrow structure which is not observed for the proton. The interaction of mesons with nuclear matter and the in-medium properties of hadrons under various aspects have been studied with meson photoproduction from nuclei, covering a large mass range (from the deuteron to lead). Questions like the possible formation of eta-mesic nuclei and in-medium modifications of the sigma-meson have been addressed.