On the η and η′ photoproduction beam asymmetry at high energies

Abstract We show that, in the Regge limit, beam asymmetries in η and η ′ photoproduction are sensitive to hidden strangeness components. Under reasonable assumptions about the couplings we estimate the contribution of the ϕ Regge pole, which is expected to be the dominant hidden strangeness contribution. The ratio of the asymmetries in η ′ and η production is estimated to be close to unity in the forward region 0 − t / GeV 2 ≤ 1 at the photon energy E lab = 9 GeV , relevant for the upcoming measurements at Jefferson Lab.