$\phi$ and $\omega$ Meson Production in pp Reactions at $p_{lab}$=3.67 GeV/c

Abstract

The exclusive production cross sections for $\omega$ and $\phi$ mesons have been measured in proton-proton reactions at $p_{lab}=3.67$ GeV/c. The observed $\phi/\omega$ cross section ratio is $(3.8\pm0.2^{+1.2}_{-0.9})\times 10^{-3}$. After phase space corrections, this ratio is enhanced by about an order of magnitude relative to naive predictions based upon the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka (OZI) rule, in comparison to an enhancement by a factor $\sim 3$ previously observed at higher beam momenta. The modest increase of this enhancement near the production threshold is compared to the much larger increase of the $\phi/\omega$ ratio observed in specific channels of $\bar pp$ annihilation experiments. Furthermore, differential cross section results are also presented which indicate that although the $\phi$ meson is predominantly produced from a $^3P_1$ proton-proton entrance channel, other partial waves contribute significantly to the production mechanism at this beam momentum.