π++d→p+p below 21 MeV

Absolute total and differential cross sections for the reaction π++d→p+p have been measured for pion energies from 3.7 to 20.5 MeV. A crossed-field velocity separator was used to enhance the purity of the pion beam, and a deuterated scintillator was used both as the target and to count the incident flux. The total cross sections are 4.0±0.5, 4.4±0.2, 4.2±0.2, 4.2±0.2, and 4.8±0.3 mb for incident pion energies of 3.7, 5.0, 9.6, 15.2, and 20.5 MeV, respectively. The measured differential cross sections indicate the presence of p-wave strength at all energies studied and are in good agreement with recent measurements for the reaction n+p→d+π0 near threshold and a recent parametrization of the total and differential cross sections for the process.