ρ-ω oscillation and charge symmetry breaking

We propose an oscillation mechanism for meson mixing that causes charge symmetry breaking in nucleon-nucleon interactions. The mixing probabilities of the ρ meson component in the ω meson and vice versa are estimated in a nuclear medium by using the data of the branching ratio B(ω→2π) and proton-proton (p-p) and neutron-neutron (n-n) scattering lengths. It is shown that the mixing probability depends on the nuclear density and is very small at normal density. In a nuclear medium, ρ-ω mixing is larger in the p-p interaction than in the n-n interaction because of Coulomb repulsion. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society