Measurement of the dp→He3η reaction near threshold

Total and differential cross sections for the dp→He3η reaction have been measured near threshold for He3 center-of-mass momenta in the range from 17.1 MeV/c to 87.5 MeV/c. The data were taken during a slow ramping of the COSY internal deuteron beam scattered on a proton target detecting the He3 ejectiles with the COSY-11 facility. The forward-backward asymmetries of the differential cross sections deviate clearly from zero for center-of-mass momenta above 50 MeV/c indicating the presence of higher partial waves in the final state. Below 50 MeV/c center-of-mass momenta a fit of the final state enhancement factor to the data of the total cross sections results in the He3-η scattering length of |a|=4.3±0.5fm.