Observation of coherent π0 electroproduction on deuterons at large momentum transfer

The first experimental results for the coherent π0 electroproduction on a deuteron, e+d → e+d+π0, at large momentum transfer, are reported. The experiment was performed at Jefferson Laboratory at an incident electron energy of 4.05 GeV. A large pion production yield has been observed in the kinematical region 1.1<Q2<1.8 GeV2, from the threshold to 200-MeV excitation energy in the dπ0 system. The Q2 dependence is compared with theoretical predictions.