NEW PARAMETERIZATION OF THE RESONANT PRODUCTION AMPLITUDES NEAR AN INELASTIC THRESHOLD

New formulae for the resonant scattering and the production amplitudes near an inelastic threshold are derived. It is shown that the Flatté formula, frequently used in experimental analyses, is not sufficiently accurate. Its application to data analysis can lead to a substantial distortion of the effective mass spectra and of the resonance pole positions.

A unitary parameterization, satisfying a generalized Watson theorem for the production amplitudes, is proposed. It can be easily applied to study production processes, multichannel meson-meson interactions and the resonance properties, including among others the scalar resonances a₀(980) and f₀(980).