Evidence for an Exotic<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>S</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:math>,<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>Q</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:math>Baryon Resonance in Proton-Proton Collisions at the CERN SPS

Results of resonance searches in the Xi(-)pi(-), Xi(-)pi(+), Xi;(+)pi(-), and Xi;(+)pi(+) invariant mass spectra in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=17.2 GeV are presented. Evidence is shown for the existence of a narrow Xi(-)pi(-) baryon resonance with mass of 1.862+/-0.002 GeV/c(2) and width below the detector resolution of about 0.018 GeV/c(2). The significance is estimated to be above 4.2sigma. This state is a candidate for the hypothetical exotic Xi(--)(3/2) baryon with S=-2, I=3 / 2, and a quark content of (dsdsū). At the same mass, a peak is observed in the Xi(-)pi(+) spectrum which is a candidate for the Xi(0)(3/2) member of this isospin quartet with a quark content of (dsus[-]d). The corresponding antibaryon spectra also show enhancements at the same invariant mass.