Consequences of direct ψ-lepton coupling

Abstract

In this paper it is shown how the assumption of direct coupling of the recently discovered ~-partieles (i.~) to leptons and quarks can explain the unexpectedly large production of ~i (3.1 GeV) in nucleon-nucleon scattering in terms of the ~ branching ratios observed in the e+e- formation experiments. This result favours the interpretation of ~-particles as weak intermediate bosons rather than as long-lived hadrons (5.7). For the theoretical interpretation of ~ it is at present crucial to study both the e+e formation and the pp production results. For example, if we assume that in both