Coherent production of ρ mesons in muon-carbon scattering at 150 and 100 GeV

We have observed coherent production of ρ mesons by muon scattering on carbon. The differential cross section falls steeply with increasing t (the square of the four-momentum transferred to the nucleus) and helicity is conserved in the s channel. Dominance by coherent production, as well as the radius of the carbon nucleus and the total ρ-nucleus cross section derived from our measurements, are consistent with what is observed in other related processes.