Polarisation of the ω meson in the p d → 3He ω reaction at 1360 and 1450 MeV

Abstract

The tensor polarisation of ω mesons produced in the p d → 3He ω reaction has been studied at two energies near threshold. The 3He nuclei were detected in coincidence with the π0 π+ π- or π0 γ decay products of the ω. In contrast to the case of φ{symbol}-meson production, the ω mesons are found to be unpolarised. This brings into question the applicability of the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule when comparing the production of vector mesons in low energy hadronic reactions. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.