  Hadron pair production gamma* gamma -> h hbar in the region where the c.m.
energy is much smaller than the photon virtuality can be described in a
factorized form, as the convolution of a partonic handbag diagram and
generalized distribution amplitudes which are new non-perturbative functions
describing the exclusive fragmentation of a quark-antiquark pair into two
hadrons. Scaling behavior and a selection rule on photon helicity are
signatures of this mechanism. The case where h is a pion is emphasized.
