Production of f0(980), f2(1270) and φ(1020) in hadronic Z0 decay

Inclusive production of the f0(980)f0(980) , f2(1270)f2(1270) and ϕ(1020)ϕ(1020) resonances has been studied in a sample of 4.3 million hadronic Z0Z0 decays from the OPAL experiment at LEP. A coupled channel analysis has been used for the f0f0 in simultaneous fits to the resonances in inclusive π+π−π+π− and K+K−K+K− mass spectra. Fragmentation functions are reported for the three states. Total inclusive rates are measured to be 0.141±0.007±0.0110.141±0.007±0.011 f0f0 , 0.155±0.011±0.0180.155±0.011±0.018 f2f2 and 0.091±0.002±0.0030.091±0.002±0.003 ϕϕ mesons per hadronic Z0Z0 decay. The production properties of the f0f0 , including those in three-jet events, are compared with those of the f2f2 and ϕϕ , and with the Lund string model of hadron production. All measurements are consistent with the hypothesis that the f0(980)f0(980) is a conventional qq¯qq¯ scalar meson.