History of exotic Meson (4-quark) and Baryon (5-quark) States

Abstract

I briefly review the history of exotic meson (4-quark) and baryon (5-quark) states, which is rooted in the formalism of Regge pole and duality. There are robust model-independent predictions for the exchange of 4-quark (Baryonium) Regge trajectories in several processes, which are strongly supported by experiment. On the other hand the predictions for the spectroscopy of 4-quark resonances are based on specific QCD inspired models, with some experimental support. The corresponding predictions for the recently discovered exotic baryon (Pentaquark) state are briefly discussed.

Comments: 14 pages Latex including 4 eps figures, final version to appear as a topical review in J. Phys. G