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Production mechanisms of isoscalar pseudotensor mesons in pion and kaon induced reactions

Key Laboratory for Microstructural Material Physics of Hebei Province, School of Science, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

^*Contact author: ludongen01@stumail.ysu.edu.cn
^†Contact author: lmwang@ysu.edu.cn

Phys. Rev. D 113, 034012 – Published 11 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sz4b-11jz

Abstract

The recent observation of the X(2600) resonance by the BESIII Collaboration has motivated a renewed interest in the spectroscopy of light mesons, particularly pseudotensor states. However, a significant theoretical gap exists in the poorly explored spectrum of isoscalar pseudotensor mesons, where several predicted radial excitations remain unobserved. To address this, we investigate the production of four such states [ $η_{2} (4 D)$ , $η_{2}^{'} (2 D)$ , $η_{2}^{'} (3 D)$ , and $η_{2}^{'} (4 D)$ ] employing an effective Lagrangian approach combined with Regge trajectory phenomenology to describe the high-energy behavior of the reactions. Our calculations reveal a distinct production selectivity: the $η_{2} (4 D)$ state is more prominent in pion induced ( $π^{-} p \to η_{2} n$ ) reactions, whereas the $η_{2}^{'} (2 D, 3 D, 4 D)$ states are preferentially produced in kaon induced ( $K^{-} p \to η_{2} Λ$ ) processes. Moreover, the total cross sections for these states exhibit characteristic peaks at specific beam momenta, providing clear kinematic windows for their discovery. This study provides the first comprehensive theoretical predictions for the production cross sections of these predicted mesons, offering crucial guidance for future experimental searches.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 034012– Published 11 February, 2026

Vol. 113, Iss. 3 — 1 February 2026

Received 23 November 2025
Accepted 22 January 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sz4b-11jz

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP³.

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Production mechanisms of isoscalar pseudotensor mesons in pion and kaon induced reactions

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