Constituent counting rule and ω photoproduction

The constituent counting ruling (CCR) has been found to hold for numerous hard, exclusive processes. It predicts the differential cross section at high energies and fixed $cos{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}$ should follow $\frac{d\ensuremath{\sigma}}{dt}\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{{s}^{n\ensuremath{-}2}}$, where $n$ is the minimal number of constituents involved in the reaction. Conversely, there are hard, exclusive processes for which it has been found that the CCR does not work. The exact reasons for these have not been clearly established. One such example, for which the analysis of CLAS data deviates from the prediction of the CCR, is the omega photoproduction reaction. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of the reaction $\ensuremath{\gamma}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\omega}p$ at ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}\ensuremath{\approx}{90}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ using CLAS data with an energy range of $s=5\text{--}8\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}$, where the CCR has been shown to work in other reactions. We argue for a stringent method to select data to test the CCR. Na\"{\i}vely, this reaction would have $n=9$ and we would expect a scaling of ${s}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$. Instead, a scaling of ${s}^{\ensuremath{-}(9.08\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.11)}$ was observed. A careful analysis of conservation of angular momentum is proposed to explain the discrepancy, supporting the validity of the CCR when applied properly.