Evidence for exchange degeneracy reanalysed

A detailed analysis is presented of Kp and πp total cross-sections with a view to investigating the validity of strong exchange degeneracy which has recently been questioned. Kp CEX data is used to extract the rho-A2 exchange. This contribution is important in determining the exact behaviour of the Pomeron at lower energies which in turn crucially affects the f exchange contribution. Assuming ideal mixing for the f, it is concluded that the f-ω residues satisfy strong exchange degeneracy, a result which can be interpreted as an important consistency check for Harari-Freund duality. (author)