Mass dependence of inclusive nuclear φ photoproduction

Abstract Based on a prior determination of the φ selfenergy in a nuclear medium we perform a theoretical study of inclusive φ photoproduction in nuclei, looking at the A dependence of the cross sections for different φ momenta. We find sizeable reductions in the nuclear cross sections with respect to the elementary one, using a φ selfenergy which implies a width about six times the free one at normal nuclear density. The calculations are done to match the set up for an ongoing experiment at SPring8/Osaka which should provide valuable information on the renormalization of the φ properties in nuclei.