Production properties of Q mesons in K$sup +-$p$Yields$K$sup +-$/$pi$$sup +$$pi$$sup -$p at 13 GeV

The momentum transfer (t') dependence of the J/sup p/ = 1/sup +/ K*..pi.. and pK partial waves in the K/sup + -/..pi../sup +/..pi../sup -/ system is presented. The production of the Q/sub 1/ meson (m approx. 1300 MeV), which has a large rhoK decay mode, obeys approximate s-channel helicity conservation. In contrast, the production of the Q/sub 2/ meson (m approx. 1400 MeV), which decays predominantly to K*..pi.., satisfies approximate t-channel helicity conservation. Furthermore, the Q/sub 1//sup + -/ production distributions are virtually identical, whereas the Q/sub 2//sup + -/ distributions exhibit a distinct crossover for abs. value t' approx. = 0.18 GeV/sup 2/. (AIP)