Dynamics of the Zweig-Iizuka Rule and a New Vector Meson below 2 GeV/c2

Abstract

The breaking of the Zweig-Iizuka rule in vector-meson decays is explained by mixing the $\omega$, $\varphi$, and $\psi$ mesons with a new SU(4)-singlet meson $O$ (a Pomeron daughter), expected to lie between 1.4 and 1.8 GeV/${\mathit{c}}^2$. We predict rates for many $\psi$-decay modes. The $O$ meson itself is predicted to decay copiously into $\rho \pi$, but its branching ratios into the $K\overline{K}$, $e^{-}{e}^{+}$, and ${\mu }^{-}{\mu }^{+}$ modes are severely suppressed.