Neutral pion photoproduction at high energies

A Regge model with absorptive corrections is employed in a global analysis of the world data on the reactions $ \gamma$ p $ \rightarrow$ $ \pi^{0}_{}$ p and $ \gamma$ n $ \rightarrow$ $ \pi^{0}_{}$ n for photon energies from 3 to 18GeV. In this region resonance contributions are expected to be negligible so that the available experimental information on differential cross-sections and single and double polarization observables at - t $ \leq$ 2 GeV2allows us to determine the reaction amplitude reliably. The model amplitude is then used to predict observables for photon energies below 3GeV. A detailed comparison with recent data from the CLAS and CB-ELSA Collaborations in that energy region is presented. Furthermore, the prospects for determining the $ \pi^{0}_{}$ radiative decay width via the Primakoff effect from the reaction $ \gamma$ p $ \rightarrow$ $ \pi^{0}_{}$ p are explored