Diffractive meson production from virtual photons with odd charge-parity exchange

We calculate the cross section of diffractive charge-parity C=+1 neutral meson production in virtual photon proton collision at high energies. Due to the opposite C-parities of photon and meson M (M = eta_C, pi^0, a_2) this process probes the t-channel C=-1 odderon exchange which is described here as noninteracting three-gluon exchange. Estimates for the cross section of the inelastic diffractive process gamma^* p -> eta_C X_p are presented. The total cross section of diffractive \eta_C meson photoproduction is found to be 47 pb. The cross sections for the diffractive production of light mesons (pi^0, a_2) in \gamma^* p collisions are of the same order if the photon virtuality Q^2 is m^2_C.