Exclusive vector photoproduction: confirmation of Regge theory

Recent small-t ZEUS data for exclusive ρ photoproduction are in excellent agreement with exchange of the classical soft pomeron with slope α′=0.25 GeV−2. Adding in a flavour-blind hard-pomeron contribution, whose magnitude is calculated from the data for exclusive J/ψ photoproduction, gives a good fit also to the ZEUS data for ρ photoproduction at larger values of t, and to φ photoproduction.