Phenomenology based on tachyon exchange

Abstract

The observation that the existence of tachyonic resonances can lead to peaks in differential cross sections implies a phenomenology of high-energy processes. A large class of hadronic differential cross sections shows a common peak at −t≃1.0 (GeV/c)². We present a detailed fit of the K⁻p and π⁻p charge-exchange (CEX) differential cross sections and determine that both processes are consistently fitted by using a tachyonic resonance with m²=−1.0 GeV² and Γ=580 MeV. The spin of the resonance determines the energy shrinkage rate and is of the form j=−½+iσ. A value of σ=0.15 leads to an adequate fit to the data. The other quantum numbers of this strongly interacting tachyon are I=1, G parity even, and Y parity even. Other possible examples of tachyonic resonances are described.