Hybrid/exotic meson spectroscopy searches at Jefferson Lab require the accurate theoretical description of the production mechanism in peripheral photoproduction. We develop a model for $\pi\Delta$ photoproduction at high energies ($5 \leq E_{ \text{ lab}} \leq 16~\text{ GeV}$) that incorporates both the absorbed pion and natural-parity cut contributions. We fit the available observables, providing a good description of the energy and angular dependencies of the experimental data. We also provide predictions for the photon beam asymmetry of charged pions at $E_{ \text{ lab}} = 9~\text{ GeV}$ which is expected to be measured by GlueX and CLAS12 experiments in the near future.
Categories: hep-ph