Elastic electroproduction of \rho mesons at HERA

The elastic electroproduction of mesons is studied at HERA with the H1 detector for a photon virtuality in the range and for a hadronic centre of mass energy in the range GeV. The shape of the () mass distribution in the resonance region is measured as a function of . The full set of spin density matrix elements is determined, and evidence is found for a helicity flip amplitude at the level of of the non-flip amplitudes. Measurements are presented of the dependence of the cross section on , W and t (the four-momentum transfer squared to the proton). They suggest that, especially at large , the cross section develops a stronger W dependence than that expected from the behaviour of elastic and total hadron–hadron cross sections. Received: 22 February 1999 / Published online: 25 February 2000