Session D7 - Hadron Physics.
ORAL session, Saturday afternoon, May 01
Governor's Square 16, Adam's Mark Hotel
Exotic particles such as pentaquark states and di-baryons are allowed to exist within the framework of Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD). However the physics of these exotic particles explores a new domain of multi-quark dynamics beyond conventional mesons and baryons. Recently observations of a pentaquark state, \Theta^+(uudd\bars), have been reported by several experiments. The NA49 experiment also reported evidence for a narrow \Xi^-\pi^- baryon resonance. We report the status of the search for exotic particles at mid-rapidity from the STAR experiment. High-energy nuclear collisions at RHIC provide a unique environment for exotic particle production. The STAR detector, with large acceptance and good particle identification capability, is suitable for searches of rarely produced particles at RHIC. The current searches cover channels: \Theta^++ \rightarrow pK^+, \Xi^-- \rightarrow \Xi^-\pi^- and others in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions. Statistical significance of our searches and future plans will also be discussed.