Exotic Fragmenting States in Inclusive Reactions

The general inclusive process $a+b\to c+X$ is considered in the $b$ fragmentation region. It is proved that if the fragmenting state ($b\overline{c}$) is exotic, the presence or absence of energy-dependent terms in the invariant cross section $f$ cannot depend on whether or not ($\mathrm{ab}\overline{c}$) is exotic. If $f$ is a smooth function of the kinematic variables, there must be a nonzero but limited region of the variables, in which the energy-dependent terms for exotic ($b\overline{c}$) are small compared to their average size when ($b\overline{c}$) is not exotic. In this region, present experimental evidence is in agreement with the hypothesis that the energy-dependent terms are small when ($\mathrm{ab}\overline{c}$) is exotic.