THE REACTION PP-]PP-PI(0) NEAR-THRESHOLD

We perform a momentum-space calculation of the reaction pp --> pp pi(0 ) near threshold. Direct production and pion rescattering are taken in to account. For the latter a T-matrix obtained from a microscopic mode l of the pi N interaction is employed. The effects of some approximati ons commonly used in studies of pp --> pp pi(0) are discussed. We find that those approximations overestimate the cross section and also mod ify its energy dependence. We obtain a significant contribution from r escattering, but not nearly enough to describe the data.