Model for analytical calculation of nuclear photoabsorption at intermediate energies

The universal curve {σ}/{A} of nuclear photoabsorption is investigated within a Fermi gas model of nuclear matter. An energy range from pion threshold up to 400 MeV is considered. The interactions between nucleon, pion, Δ-isobar and photon are considered in the non-relativistic approximation with corrections of the order {1}/{M} taken into account with respect to proton mass. Analytical expressions are obtained, in which the influence of nuclear correlations and two-nucleon contributions is studied explicitly. The contributions of real and virtual pions are found to be sufficient to obtain agreement with experimental data in this energy range. An extension of the model calculation to nucleon knock-out reactions is discussed.