Discovery of a narrow resonance state of the system K S K S at mass 1520 MeV

Data are presented which indicate the existence of a previously unknown narrow resonance near mass 1520 MeV, discovered while analyzing the system K _S K _S . The data were obtained at ITEP using the 6-m magnetic spectrometer in a beam of 40-GeV negative particles. The resonance is observed in π⁻ p and K ⁻ p interactions with a total statistical confidence of not less than 5 standard deviations. The width of this state is comparable to the mass resolution of the spectrometer (∼5 MeV). The mass is 1521.5±2.5 MeV. Estimates of the product σ·BR (K _S K _S ) give ∼5.0 nb in π⁻ p interactions and ∼250 nb in K ⁻ p interactions. From the fact that the production cross section of this resonance in the K ⁻ beam is approximately 50 times greater than the production cross section in the π⁻ beam, it can be concluded that this new state belongs to a system of mesons with hidden strangeness. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 4, 242–246 (25 August 1999)