Differential cross sections of proton compton scattering at photon laboratory energies between 700 and 1000 MeV

Differential cross sections of proton Compton scattering have been measured at the Bonn 2.5 GeV synchrotron. 78 data points are presented as angular distributions at photon lab energies of 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, and 950MeV. The c.m. scattering angle ranges from 40°–130°, corresponding to a variation of the four momentum transfer squared betweent=?0.10 tot=?0.96 GeV² at 700 and 950 MeV, respectively. Two additional differential cross sections have been measured at 1000MeV, 35.6° and 47.4°. The angular distributions show forward peaks whose extrapolations to 0° are consistent with calculated forward cross sections taken from literature. The small angle data (|t| ?0.2 GeV²) together with the calculated cross sections at 0° are also consistent with the assumption of a slope parameterB of 5 GeV^?2. For the first time a rerise of the angular distributions towards backward angles has been observed. It becomes less steep with increasing energy. The most interesting feature of the angular distributions is a sharp structure which appears betweent=?0.55 GeV² at 700MeV andt=?0.72 GeV² at 950 MeV. Such a rapid varation of the differential cross section witht has never been ovserved in elastic hadron-hadron scattering or photoproduction processes. It indicates the existence of a dynamical mechanism which could be a peculiarity of Compton scattering.