5
Volume 34B, number 4 PHYSICS LETTERS 1March 197: INVESTIGATION OF THE (b-MESON RESONANCE BY ELECTRON-POSITRON COLLIDING BEAMS V. E. BALAKIN, G.I. BUDKER, E.V. PAKHTUSOVA, V.A.SIDOROV A. N. SKRINSKY, G.M. TUMAIKIN and A. G. KHABAKHPASHEV ' Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, USSR Received 20 January 1971 Using the colliding beam machine, VEPP-2, the excitation curve of the (b-meson resonance was investi- gated in the three main decay modes. The resonance parameters obtained are the width, the total cross- section and the branching ratios. Namely: F - (4.67 ± 0.42)MeV (~o - (3.96 ± 0.35) ~B B(e+e -) = (2,81 ± 0.25) x 10 -4 B(K*K-) = (54.0 ± 3,4) % o O B(KsK~) - (25.7 ± 3,0) c/r: B@r+T;~°) = (20.3 ± 4,2) % In addition, the pion form factor at 2E :: 1020 MeV is obtained together with an upper limit for branching ratio of the (b-meson decay into a pion pair: i FTr 12 2.9 • 1,2 B(TT+Tr -) < 0.8 ~ . Using two colliding-beam installations (Novo- sibrisk and Orsay) a number of neatral vector meson investigations have been performed [1-8]. The present work on the (/)-meson resonance is an extension of these researches. Its difference from the similar work [6, 7] by the Orsay group consists in the simultaneous detection of the three main ~-meson decay modes: K+K ", K~K~ (through K~ ~ ~+~-) and 7r+~-n °, as well as the :r+~ - pairs. The preliminary results of the work are already published [8]. The experiments have been made using the electron-positron storage ring VEPP-2. The working conditions of the storage ring during the experiments (in the summer of 1969) are specified by the following parameters, namely: the average luminosity is 1028 cm -2 sec -1, the initial currents are 60 mA and 40 mA, for elec- trons and positrons, respectively, and the ef- fective lifetime of the beams is 5 hours. The spark chamber system used in the ex- periment consists of two idential parts (upper and lower) covering the solid angle 2 × 0.9 steradians near the vertical axis. The layout of the spark chamber system is shown in fig. 1. Thinplate chambers are used to determine the angles of outcoming particles as well as the co- ordinates of the interaction point. The particle identification is achieved by observing their in- teraction with the material plates in the "shower"- and the "range"-spark chambers. The "shower" chamber consists of 11 lead plates of 2 mm thick each. The "range" cham- ber consists of 21 plates each of 8 mm thick stainless steel. An elaborate system of mirrors al]owed the use of a single camera for recording The spark chamber system is triggered by four scintillation counters in coincidence with the resolving time of 20 nsec. The four-fold co- incidence detected the minimum ionizing partic- les with an efficiency of 97%. The two-fold co- incidence between the inner scintillation coun- ters, close to the vacuum chamber, detected charged K-mesons with an efficiency of 100%. The kinetic energy of K-mesons at the (b-reso- nance maximum is only 16 MeV, and hence the light yield in the scintillator is considerably greater than that of relativistic particles. To facilitate the latter analysis the magnitude of these pulses for each event was recorded on the film of the spark chamber pictures. An anticoincidence counter of dimensions 160 × 160 × 5 cm 3 was viewed by a single photo- multiplier FEU-65 and is used for vetoing cos- 328

Investigation of the φ-meson resonance by electron-positron colliding beams

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Volume 34B, number 4 P H Y S I C S L E T T E R S 1 M a r c h 197:

I N V E S T I G A T I O N O F T H E ( b - M E S O N R E S O N A N C E B Y

E L E C T R O N - P O S I T R O N C O L L I D I N G B E A M S

V. E. BALAKIN, G . I . BUDKER, E . V . PAKHTUSOVA, V . A . S I D O R O V A. N. SKRINSKY, G . M . TUMAIKIN and A. G. K H A B A K H P A S H E V '

Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, USSR

Received 20 January 1971

Using the colliding beam machine , VEPP-2 , the excitat ion curve of the (b-meson resonance was inves t i - gated in the three main decay modes. The resonance p a r a m e t e r s obtained are the width, the total c r o s s - sect ion and the branching rat ios . Namely:

F - (4.67 ± 0.42)MeV

(~o - (3.96 ± 0.35) ~B

B(e+e -) = (2,81 ± 0.25) x 10 -4

B(K*K-) = (54.0 ± 3,4) %

o O B(KsK~) - (25.7 ± 3,0) c/r:

B@r+T;~ °) = (20.3 ± 4,2) %

In addition, the pion form factor at 2E :: 1020 MeV is obtained together with an upper l imit for branching ra t io of the (b-meson decay into a pion pair :

i FTr 12 2.9 • 1,2 B(TT+Tr -) < 0.8 ~ .

U s i n g two c o l l i d i n g - b e a m i n s t a l l a t i o n s (Novo- s i b r i s k and O r s a y ) a n u m b e r of n e a t r a l v e c t o r m e s o n i n v e s t i g a t i o n s h a v e b e e n p e r f o r m e d [1-8] . T h e p r e s e n t w o r k on the ( / ) -meson r e s o n a n c e i s an e x t e n s i o n of t h e s e r e s e a r c h e s . I t s d i f f e r e n c e f r o m the s i m i l a r w o r k [6, 7] by t he O r s a y g r o u p c o n s i s t s in the s i m u l t a n e o u s d e t e c t i o n of t he t h r e e m a i n ~ - m e s o n d e c a y m o d e s : K+K ", K~K~ ( th rough K~ ~ ~+~-) and 7r+~-n ° , a s we l l a s t he :r+~ - p a i r s . T h e p r e l i m i n a r y r e s u l t s of t he w o r k a r e a l r e a d y p u b l i s h e d [8].

T h e e x p e r i m e n t s h a v e b e e n m a d e u s i n g the e l e c t r o n - p o s i t r o n s t o r a g e r i n g V E P P - 2 . T h e w o r k i n g c o n d i t i o n s of t he s t o r a g e r i n g d u r i n g the e x p e r i m e n t s (in t h e s u m m e r of 1969) a r e s p e c i f i e d by the f o l l o w i n g p a r a m e t e r s , n a m e l y : t he a v e r a g e l u m i n o s i t y i s 1028 c m -2 s e c -1 , t he i n i t i a l c u r r e n t s a r e 60 m A and 40 mA, f o r e l e c - t r o n s and p o s i t r o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , and the e f - f e c t i v e l i f e t i m e of t he b e a m s i s 5 h o u r s .

T h e s p a r k c h a m b e r s y s t e m u s e d in t he e x - p e r i m e n t c o n s i s t s of two i d e n t i a l p a r t s (upper and l o w e r ) c o v e r i n g t he s o l i d a n g l e 2 × 0.9 s t e r a d i a n s n e a r t he v e r t i c a l a x i s . T h e l ayou t of t h e s p a r k c h a m b e r s y s t e m i s shown in f ig . 1. T h i n p l a t e c h a m b e r s a r e u s e d to d e t e r m i n e t he a n g l e s of o u t c o m i n g p a r t i c l e s a s we l l a s t he c o -

o r d i n a t e s of t he i n t e r a c t i o n po in t . The p a r t i c l e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s a c h i e v e d by o b s e r v i n g t h e i r i n - t e r a c t i o n wi th the m a t e r i a l p l a t e s in the " s h o w e r " - and t h e " r a n g e " - s p a r k c h a m b e r s . T h e " s h o w e r " c h a m b e r c o n s i s t s of 11 l e a d p l a t e s of 2 m m t h i c k each . T h e " r a n g e " c h a m - b e r c o n s i s t s of 21 p l a t e s e a c h of 8 m m t h i c k s t a i n l e s s s t e e l . An e l a b o r a t e s y s t e m of m i r r o r s a l ] owed t he u s e of a s i n g l e c a m e r a fo r r e c o r d i n g

T h e s p a r k c h a m b e r s y s t e m i s t r i g g e r e d by fou r s c i n t i l l a t i o n c o u n t e r s in c o i n c i d e n c e wi th t h e r e s o l v i n g t i m e of 20 n s e c . T h e f o u r - f o l d c o - i n c i d e n c e d e t e c t e d the m i n i m u m i o n i z i n g p a r t i c - l e s wi th an e f f i c i e n c y of 97%. T h e t w o - f o l d c o - i n c i d e n c e b e t w e e n t he i n n e r s c i n t i l l a t i o n c o u n - t e r s , c l o s e to the v a c u u m c h a m b e r , d e t e c t e d c h a r g e d K - m e s o n s wi th an e f f i c i e n c y of 100%. T h e k i n e t i c e n e r g y of K - m e s o n s a t the ( b - r e s o - n a n c e m a x i m u m i s only 16 MeV, and h e n c e t he l i gh t y i e l d in the s c i n t i l l a t o r i s c o n s i d e r a b l y g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t of r e l a t i v i s t i c p a r t i c l e s . To f a c i l i t a t e t he l a t t e r a n a l y s i s the m a g n i t u d e of t h e s e p u l s e s f o r e a c h even t was r e c o r d e d on t h e f i l m of t he s p a r k c h a m b e r p i c t u r e s .

An a n t i c o i n c i d e n c e c o u n t e r of d i m e n s i o n s 160 × 160 × 5 c m 3 was v i e w e d by a s i n g l e p h o t o - m u l t i p l i e r F E U - 6 5 and i s u s e d fo r v e t o i n g c o s -

328

Volume 34B, number 4 P H Y S I C S L E T T E R S 1 M a r c h [971

II \ "",,,\ . . ,, i ¸

p

i l l i , I L - ~ - -

_'2 ! • ~'~ ---

- i e / e - - £ : -

.- j .~ ~ - ~ _ A

I

. - . , _ _ ~ : : = =

i l ~ , i I I

~ ' ,

i '

Fig. 1. Spark Chamber system, 1) anticoincidence sc int i l la t ion counter , 2) lead abso rbe r , 200 mm thick, 3} range spa rk chamber , 4) shower spark chamber , 5), 7) scint i l la t ion counters , 6) duraluminium abso rbe r , 20mm thick, 8), t0) thin-plate spa rk chamber , 9) s t o r - age r ing magnet , 11) in teract ion region, 12), 13) inner

and outer vacuum chambers .

m i c r a y s . B e t w e e n t h e v e t o - c o u n t e r and t he c h a m b e r s a 20 c m t h i c k l e a d a b s o r b e r i s p l a c e d to p r e v e n t t h e p a r t i c l e s u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n f r o m r e a c h i n g t h i s c o u n t e r . T h e a n t i c o i n c i d e n c e c o u n - t e r r e d u c e d t he c o s m i c - r a y t r i g g e r i n g r a t e by m o r e t h a n a f a c t o r of 50. An a d d i t i o n a l r e d u c t i o n of a f a c t o r 4 was o b t a i n e d when t h e c o u n t e r s w e r e g a t e d by the r f s i g n a l . U n d e r t h e s e c o n d i - t i o n s t h e t r i g g e r i n g r a t e due to c o s m i c - r a y s i s 40 c o u n t s p e r h o u r w h i l e t he t r i g g e r i n g r a t e due to t he p a r t i c l e s f r o m the c o l l i d i n g b e a m s w as m u c h h i g h e r .

T h e a c c u r a c y of t h e a b s o l u t e e n e r g y d e t e r - m i n a t i o n by m e a n s of m a g n e t i c f i e l d m e a s u r e - m e n t s i s a b o u t 1%. T h e s t a b i l i t y in e n e r g y a n d i t s r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y o v e r v a r i o u s r u n s w as c h e c k e d by t he n u c l e a r r e s o n a n c e m e t h o d w i t h a n a c c u r a c y of 0.01%. T h e a b s o l u t e e n e r g y c a l i b r a - t i on w a s m a d e by u s i n g t he t a b u l a t e d e n e r g y v a l u e , 1019.5 MeV of t h e ( ~ - m e s o n r e s o n a n c e [9].

C h e c k i n g the c o n d i t i o n s of t he b e a m c o l l i s i o n and t he l u m i n o s i t y m o n i t o r i n g ( i n t e g r a t i o n ) w e r e

Table 1 Summarizes the resu l t s of measu remen t s .

effect background cosmic

Measurement t ime (hour) 222 67 68

2 y - m o n i t o r (103) 1292 2.3

Number of p ic tures (103 ) 86.1 25.6 10.2

Luminosity integral (1033 crn_2) 8.5

c a r r i e d out by r e c o r d i n g t he doub le b r e m s s t r a h - lung e v e n t s [16]. T h i s p r o c e s s was r e c o r d e d by t he two NaI s c i n t i l l a t i o n c o u n t e r s in c o i n c i d e n c e (2 v - m o n i t o r ) . T h e e n e r g y t h r e s h o l d of t h e s e c o u n t e r s was s e t a t 5 MeV.

T h e m a i n bu lk of r e c o r d i n g took 1.5 m o n t h s of 24 h o u r s p e r day o p e r a t i o n of t he s t o r a g e r i n g . T h e e x p e r i m e n t s w e r e p e r f o r m e d a t n i n e e n e r g y v a l u e s of t he c o l l i d i n g b e a m s , f r o m 508 MeV u p to 514 MeV. O n e - f o u r t h of t he w h o l e p e r i o d was s p e n t on " b a c k g r o u n d " m e a s u r e m e n t s wi th t he b e a m s d i s p l a c e d v e r t i c a l l y f r o m e a c h o t h e r a t a d i s t a n c e of 2 m m . In a d d i t i o n t h e b a c k g r o u n d of c o s m i c - r a y s was m e a s u r e d .

T h r o u g h the a n a l y s i s of t he p h o t o g r a p h e d e v e n t s t he f o l l o w i n g s ix t y p e s of r e a c t i o n w e r e s e l e c t e d :

1) e+e - -* e+e - . T h e c o l l i n e a r i t y a n d the p r e - s e n c e of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s h o w e r s in b o t h u p p e r a n d l o w e r c h a m b e r s y s t e m s a l l o w u s to s e l e c t t h i s t ype of p r o c e s s c l e a r l y w i t h o u t b a c k g r o u n d c o n t a m i n a t i o n . T h e d e v i a t i o n , /x~o, f r o m c o l - l i n e a r i t y w a s r e q u i r e d to s a t i s f y AW < 10 o.

2) e+e - -* K+K - . T h e m a i n c r i t e r i a f o r s e l e c - t i on w e r e c o l l i n e a r i t y (A~o < 10 °) a n d p u l s e s of h i g h a m p l i t u d e in a p a i r of t r i g g e r i n g s c i n t i l l a - t i on c o u n t e r s . In " s h o w e r " and " r a n g e " c h a m - b e r s a b o u t o n e - t h i r d of t he r e g i s t e r e d e v e n t s of t h i s p r o c e s s s h o w e d a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p i c t u r e of t h e d e c a y of a K - m e s o n s t o p p e d in t he f i r s t s c i n - t i l l a t i o n c o u n t e r . T h e l a t t e r e v e n t s h a v e no b a c k g r o u n d .

o o 3) e+e - ~ KsK L. T h e d e c a y K~ ~ ~+~- was

r e c o r d e d . T h e b r a n c h i n g r a t i o of t h i s m o d e i s 68.7 + 0.6% [9]. T h e a n g l e of n o n - c o l l i n e a r i t y , Aw, was r e q u i r e d to b e f r o m 10 ° to 34 ° . T h e u p p e r l i m i t i s s e t by the K ~ - m e s o n m o m e n t u m . T h e r a n g e of the ~ - m e s o n s f r o m t h i s p r o c e s s d o e s not a l l o w t h e m to p e n e t r a t e b e y o n d the f o u r t h gap of the " r a n g e " c h a m b e r . T h i s c o n d i c t i o n was u s e d a s an a d d i t i o n a l c r i t e r i o n fo r s e l e c t i o n . T h e

329

Volume 34B. number 4 P H Y S I C S L E T T E R S

T a b l e 2

1 M a r c h 1971

Channel

e + e -

K+K-

O O KsK L

77-+ T/~-T/-O

~+~-

Number of events detected

back- effect cosmics ground

530 0 0

633 20 2

95 0 0

21 0 0

40 3 15

Normalizat ion factor 1 0.298 1.32

Pure effect Efficiency of (background detection substracted)

530 • 23 (0.0625gb)

565 ± 29 7.1 :~ 0.1

95 • 10 3.4 + 0.2

21 ± 4.6 0.71 :e 0.08

28.6± 7 6.0 ±0 .7

e v e n t s wi th a z i m u t h a l c o m p o n e n t , A(p, of A¢0 s m a l l e r than 4 ° w e r e no t a c c e p t e d , s i n c e they a r e c o n t i m a t e d by the p r o c e s s e+e - ~ ~+Tr-).

4) e+e - ~ ~+~r-ro. To t h i s p r o c e s s w e r e a s - s i g n e d t h o s e e v e n t s in w h i c h t h e a n g l e of n o n - c o l l i n e a r i t y o r the r a n g e of one of t h e p i o n s e x - c e e d e d t he v a l u e s e x p e c t e d f o r t he p r e c e d i n g p r o c e s s . T h e c r i t e r i o n A~ < 4 ° i s a l s o r e t a i n e d h e r e . An a d d i t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n of A ~ < 65 ° i s f u r t h e r i m p o s e d in o r d e r to d e c r e a s e t he b a c k - g r o u n d c o n t a m i n a t i o n .

5) e+e - -* ~r+Tr - . To t h i s p r o c e s s w e r e a s - s i g n e d t h o s e e v e n t s in w h i c h b o t h ends of the c o l - l i n e a r t r a c k , (Aw < 2.5 o) w e r e e i t h e r in t h e " s h o w e r " - o r in t he " r a n g e " c h a m b e r .

6) e+e - ~ ~+ g - . To t h i s p r o c e s s w e r e a s - s i g n e d t h o s e e v e n t s in w h i c h t he c o l l i n e a r t r a c k (Aw < 2.5 °) e x t e n d e d in b o t h d i r e c t i o n s b e y o n d t he " r a n g e " c h a m b e r s . T h e r e s u l t s of t h i s p r o - c e s s a r e g i v e n e l s e w h e r e [10] w h e r e t he d o m a i n of a p p l i c a b i l i t y of QED i s i n v e s t i g a t e d .

T h e r e s u l t s of the e x p e r i m e n t a r e s u m m a - r i z e d in t a b l e 2.

T h e n u m b e r of b a c k g r o u n d e v e n t s a m o n g the a b o v e a c c e p t e d e v e n t s w as n o r m a l i z e d to t h a t in the " b a c k g r o u n d " r u n by u s i n g t he t o t a l n u m b e r s of p i c t u r e s t a k e n in t he r e s p e c t i v e r u n s . In e s t i - m a t i n g t he b a c k g r o u n d f o r the p r o c e s s ~+~r- we u s e d t he " c o s m i c " r u n i n s t e a d of " b a c k g r o u n d " r u n b e c a u s e of t he b e t t e r s t a t i s t i c a l a c c u r a c y .

D u r i n g t he c o u r s e of t he e x p e r i m e n t a l r u n s the r e l a t i v e i n t e g r a l l u m i n o s i t y w as c h e c k e d by the 2 ~ - m o n i t o r . T h e a b s o l u t e v a l u e of t he l u m i - n o s i t y was d e t e r m i n e d f r o m t he l a r g e a n g l e e l e c - t r o n - p o s i t r o n e l a s t i c s c a t t e r i n g .

T h e g e o m e t r i c a l d e t e c t i o n e f f i c i e n c y of t he s p a r k c h a m b e r s y s t e m was c a l c u l a t e d by a

330

M o n t e C a r l o m e t h o d . T h e d e t e c t i o n p r o b a b i l i t i e s g i v e n in t a b l e 2 i n c l u d e c o r r e c t i o n s f o r t he e f - f i c i e n c y of t he c o i n c i d e n c e c i r c u i t , a n d fo r the p r o b a b i l i t y of ~ - m e s o n s s a t i s f y i n g t he r a n g e r e - q u i r e m e n t , e t c . T h e e l a s t i c s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s - s e c t i o n g iven in t a b l e 2 f o r t h e p r e s e n t d e t e c t o r g e o m e t r y a l r e a d y i n c l u d e s t h e r a d i a t i v e c o r r e c - t i on [11]. In c a l c u l a t i n g t h e I~K 0 mode c r o s s - s e c t i o n i t was t a k e n in to a c c o u n t ~ h a t a p a r t of t he e v e n t s 7r+Tr-Tr o would s a t i s f y t he s e l e c t i o n r e - q u i r e m e n t s f o r K~K~. T h e p r o b a b i l i t y f o r a n 1r+~-~ ° - e v e n t to be m i s t a k e n f o r a K ~ K ~ - e v e n t i s (0.14 + 0.02) %.

T h e r a d i a t i v e c o r r e c t i o n s a r e r a t h e r i m p o r - t a n t f o r the a n a l y s i s of t he r e s o n a n c e p r o c e s s u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n [12]. T h e m e a s u r e d c r o s s - s e c t i o n , a m , i s r e l a t e d by t he fo l l owing f o r m u l a to the " i d e a l " c r o s s - s e c t i o n , ~, w h i c h we a r e l ook ing f o r , a m = a(1 + 5R). At the p e a k of the ~ - r e s o n a n c e , 6 R = - 0 . 2 4 .

T h e d u r a t i o n of the r u n s i s f r o m 2 to 5 h o u r s . S i n c e the t i m e of r a d i a t i v e p o l a r i z a t i o n of the b e a m s a t t he e n e r g y 510 MeV in s t o r a g e r i n g V E P P - 2 i s t h r e e h o u r s [13], in the a b s e n c e of d e p o l a r i z a t i o n e f f e c t s the p o l a r i z a t i o n of t he b e a m wi l l i n f l u e n c e t he r e s u l t s of c r o s s - s e c t i o n m e a s u r e m e n t s in t h e K+K - c h a n n e l . In t h i s c a s e t he c o r r e c t i o n f o r t h e c r o s s - s e c t i o n wi l l b e 5 R = 0 .06. In o t h e r w o r d s , i f t h e r e a r e no d e p o l a r i z a - t i on e f f e c t s , o u r r e s u l t s f o r t he t o t a l c r o s s - s e c - t i on of t h i s m o d e s h o u l d b e r e d u c e d by 6%. I t i s p o s s i b l e to e s t i m a t e t h i s c o r r e c t i o n f r o m t h e o b - s e r v a t i o n of t h e r a t e of o c c u r e n c e of K+K - - e v e n t s a s a f u n c t i o n of t i m e a f t e r the b e a m s w e r e i n j e c t e d in to t he s t o r a g e r i n g . T h i s m e t h o d g a v e 5p = 0.02 + 0.03 and we t ook t he v a l u e 5p = 0 in the p r e s e n t a n a l y s i s .

Volume 34B, number 4 P H Y S I C S

i

I E, AC KGR OL~t~ ! 'J

0 ~ I0~'6 ~0'20 1024 2 ( , N e V

Fig. 2. e+e ~ -~ <b -*K+K --reaction. At the chosen nor- malization the ordinates of the points correspond to

the number of detected events.

40

] e e-*-K,L

t046 4090 *0~. ~(, f, leV

÷ - O O Fig. 3. e e -~ <b ~KsK T. The admixture of the 7r+Tr-Tr ° channel's shown by the dotted line.

~. e+e-_ ¢_~i+1 i -~ o

qOI6 t020 102k '2( NeV

Fig. 4. e+e - -,d) --* ~r+~-~r°-reaction.

Figs. 2-4 show the results of the experimen- tal data analysis of the three main decay modes of the <b-meson. Fitting the experimental r e - sults to the Breit-Wigner formula using the maxi- mum likely-hood method gave the following values for the resonance width and for the par - tial resonance cross-sec t ions of the three reac- tion modes:

L E T T E R S I March 1971

F = (4.67 ± 0.42) MeV

~(K+K -) = (2.13 + 0.17) b a r n

~(K~K~) = (I.01 + 0.15) barn

~(~+~-~o) = (0.81 ± 0.21) barn.

The X2-value of this fit is 15.5 which corre- sponds to 84% confidence level for 28-6 = 22 de- grees of f r e e d o m .

A s s u m i n g t h e a b s e n c e of t he o t h e r d e c a y m o d e s of t h e <b-meson , t he t o t a l c r o s s - s e c t i o n f o r 0 - m e s o n p r o d u c t i o n was found to be

~o = (3.96 a: 0 . 3 5 ) ~ b a r n

a n d t he b r a n c h i n g r a t i o s f o r the m a i n m o d e s of d e c a y a r e

B(K+K -) = (54.0 + 3.4) %

B(I~K~) = (25.7 + 3.0) %

B(~+~-~ o) = (20.3 * 4.2) %.

U s i n g t h e s e r e s u l t s we can o b t a i n t he b r a n c h i n g r a t i o a s we l l a s t he wid th of the e+e - - d e c a y of t h e <b-meson . N a m e l y :

B(e+e -) = (2.81 • 0 .25) × 10 -4

F (e+e -) = (1.31 + 0.12) keV.

T h e c o u p l i n g c o n s t a n t of t he <b-meson i s

g2 ~ 2 m (b a <b 4~ - 3 F ~ = 11.7 • 1.1,

w h e r e a<b = 0 .85 t a k e s c a r e of t he e f f e c t of t he f i n i t e w i d t h [14].

T h e r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d h e r e a r e in s a t i s f a c t o r y a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h o s e of t h e O r s a y g r o u p in F r a n c e .

T h e a n a l y s i s of ~+~- p r o c e s s a l l o w e d t he p r e - s e n c e of a n o t i c e a b l e a m o u n t of n o n - r e s o n a n t p r o d u c t i o n in t he e n e r g y r a n g e i n v e s t i g a t e d . T h e f o r m f a c t o r of t he ~ - m e s o n i s t h e n e s t i m a t e d to b e (at 1020 MeV)

12 -- 3.2 • 0.8.

T h i s v a l u e i s h i g h e r t h a n t he v a l u e 1.6 + 0 .3 e s t i - m a t e d f r o m t h e e x t r a p o l a t i o n of the B r e i g t - W i g - n e r r e l a t i o n f o r t he p - m e s o n r e s o n a n c e [2, 4].

O u r a t t e m p t to o b s e r v e t h e i n t e r f e r e n c e b e - t w e e n t h i s n o n - r e s o n a n t t a i l and t h e r e s o n a n t <b ~ ~+~- d e c a y was u n s u c c e s f u l . We o b t a i n e d a n u p p e r l i m i t f o r t he b r a n c h i n g r a t i o of the ~+Tr-

331

Volume 34B. number 4 P H Y S I C S L E T T E R S 1March 1971

decay m o d e of the S - m e s o n . Th i s i s

B(~+n -) < 0,8 %

with the c o n f i d e n c e l eve l of 95%. Inc lud ing the p o s s i b l e i n t e r f e r e n c e e f f ec t t he m a x i m u m l i k e l y - hood e s t i m a t e g i v e s

iF~ i 2 = 2,9 ± 1,2.

The a u t h o r s a r e g r a t e f u l to V. N. B a y e r , A . I . V a i n s h t e i n and I. B. K h r i p l o v i c h f o r u se fu l d i s - c u s s i o n s and to the l a r g e g r o u p of c o - w o r k e r s t ak ing p a r t in da ta p r o c e s s i n g .

RefeT"ences [1] V. L. Auslender et al.. Phys. Let ters 25B (1967)

433. [2] V. L. Auslender et al., Yadern. Fiz. 9 (1969}

[3] I. E. Augustin et al.. Phys. Rev. Let ters 20 (1968) 126.

[4] I. E. Augustin et al., Phys. Let ters 28B (1969) 508. [5] I. E. Augustin et al., Phys. Let ters 28B (1969) 513. [6] I. E. Augustin et al., Phys. Let ters 28B ~l .q69) 517. [71 I. P e r e z - y - Y o r b a . Intern. Symposium (Daresbury.

(1969). [8] V. A. Sidorov, Intern. Symposium (Daresbury,

1969). [9] A. N. Rosenfeld, Tables (1970).

[10] V. E. Balakin et al. , Submitted to the Intern. Con- ference (Kiev, 1970).

[11] S. M. Sukhanov, V. S. Fadin and V. A. Khoze, Sov. Phys. Dokl., 178 (1968) 822.

[12] V. N. Bayer and V. S. Fadin, Phys. Let ters 27B (1968) 223.

[13] V. N. Bayer. International School of Physics "Enrico Fermi" XLVI (Academic P r e s s , 1970).

[14] F .Renard . Nucl. Phys. B15 (1970) 267. [15] L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshi ts . , Phys. 6 (1950)

615. [16] P. I. Golubnichiy et al., Proc. Int. Symp. on e l ec -

tron and positron storage rings (Saclay, 1966).

332