Measurements of pion properties and production amplitudes: Probing confinement scale QCD

Two basic characteristics of QCD at low energies are the appearance of the chiral anomaly (e.g. responsible for the pi(0) --> gamma gamma decay) and the prediction of Goldstone Bosons due to the spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry. It is therefore important to accurately measure the properties, low energy interactions, and the production and decay rates of the approximate Goldstone Bosons (pi,eta,K) which are found in nature. These experimental data will provide a test for any theory of the strong interactions at low energies. Here a subset of such experiments which can be performed with low energy electromagnetic accelerators and e(+)e(-) colliders will be examined. The present status of the near threshold gamma p --> pi N reaction with real and virtual photons is reviewed since there has been considerable recent progress in the study of this reaction. The status of the radiative lifetime and transition form factors of the pi(0),eta and eta' mesons are briefly reviewed and some possible future work is suggested.