Search for Evidence of a<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi><mml:mn/><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mn>1236</mml:mn><mml:mo>)</mml:mo><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi><mml:mn/><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mn>1236</mml:mn><mml:mo>)</mml:mo><mml:mn/></mml:math>Component of the Deuteron

Evidence for a bound ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{33}(1236)\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{33}(1236)$ component of the deuteron is sought by using ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}$, ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, and ${K}^{+}$ mesons as probes of nuclear structure. Events are observed which might contain $\ensuremath{\Delta}(1236)$ "spectators" in the breakup of a deuteron in a $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ state. However, other mechanisms may contribute to the signal, and we cannot unambiguously ascribe our events to a $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ contribution in the deuteron. With certain assumptions we obtain an upper limit of \ensuremath{\sim}0.7% for the $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ component of the deuteron.