Diffractive Photoproduction of a $b_1 \pi$ System

It is shown that a likely interpretation of theb 1 ± π∓ mass spectrum from diffractive photoproduction is that it is due to contributions from the ω3(1670), in accord with corresponding production of the ρ3(1690), and from a further peak with a mass of 1.88±0.04 GeV and a width ≦0.3 GeV. The possibility that this latter peak can be due to a group of $$q\bar qg$$ hybrid states, as proposed by Isgur and Paton, is explored.