The quasi-free $\gamma d\to\pi^{-}p(p)$ differential cross section has been
measured with CLAS at photon beam energies $E_\gamma$ from 0.445 GeV to 2.510
GeV (corresponding to $W$ from 1.311 GeV to 2.366 GeV) for pion center-of-mass
angles $\cos\theta_\pi^{c.m.}$ from -0.72 to 0.92. A correction for final state
interactions has been applied to this data to extract the $\gamma n\to\pi^-p$
differential cross sections. These cross sections are quoted in 8428
$(E_\gamma,\cos\theta_\pi^{c.m.})$ bins, a factor of nearly three increase in
the world statistics for this channel in this kinematic range. These new data
help to constrain coupled-channel analysis fits used to disentangle the
spectrum of $N^*$ resonances and extract their properties. Selected photon
decay amplitudes $N^* \to \gamma n$ at the resonance poles are determined for
the first time and are reported here.
