SU(4) symmetry and the new resonances

Using as a basis the idea that the new resonances discovered recently at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and at Brookhaven National Laboratory can be fitted into an SU(4)-symmetric scheme, we examine in detail the production and decay mechanisms of these resonances. A generalization of the Weinberg spectral-function sum rule is proposed which leads to quantitative predictions for the production cross sections of these resonances in eē annihilation. Several decay mechanisms are discussed, and arguments are presented, albeit somewhat qualitatively, to suggest that the dominant decay modes are ψ→η^'γ and ψ^'→ψ+2π. As an aid to the experimentalist searching for charmed particles, we have also tabulated the predicted masses of various mesons and baryons, using both the linear and the quadratic mass formulas.