Consequences of quark-line (Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka) rule

Abstract

Consequences of the validity of the quark-line (Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka) rule have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. The present experimental data are consistent with the validity of the rule for $1^{-}$ and possibly $2^{+}$ nonets. With respect to the $0^{-}$ nonet, the rule is in reasonable agreement, if we consider a suitable mixing scheme for the $\eta -{\eta }^{\prime }$ complex. Theoretical implications of these facts are also discussed. The possible violation of the rule has been estimated to be 6% for the $1^{-}$ nonet and 15% for the $0^{-}$ nonet.