Bethe-Salpeter dynamics for two-photon processes

Recent experimental data on single hadron production by two-photon beams inpetra andpep have provided a unique opportunity for testing specific models of confinement through a study of one of their cleanest predictionsviz the γγ →H amplitudes. Motivated by this new facility, aqcd-oriented Bethe-Salpeter model of harmonic confinement, which has already been found to describe rather well several classes of hadronic data (from mass spectra to electromagnetic and pionic couplings), is now employed for a detailed comparison of its predictions onP → γγ andT → γγ couplings with the data. The agreement is quite good for all cases except one (η → γγ). This paper is offered as a “Festschrift” in honour of Dr Raja Ramanna on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. The subject is theoretical in content but seeks to exploit an entirely new window opened by the latest experimental technology (on two-photon physics). As such it is appropriately dedicated to one of the main architects of nuclear science in India.