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Primakoff production of $π^0$, $η$ and $η'$ in the Coulomb field of a nucleus

Photoproduction of neutral pseudoscalar mesons $π^0,η(547)$ and $η'(958)$ in the Coulomb field of an atomic nucleus is studied using a model which describes the Primakoff and nuclear parts of the production amplitude. At high energies the nuclear background is dominated by the exchange of $C$-parity odd Regge trajectories. In the coherent production the isospin filtering makes the $ω(782)$ a dominant trajectory. The calculations are in agreement with $π^0$ data from JLAB provided the photon shadowing and final state interactions of mesons are taken into account. The kinematic conditions which allow to study the Primakoff effect in $η$ and $η'$ photoproduction off nuclei are further discussed. We also give predictions for the higher energies available at the JLAB upgrade.