We construct a simple dispersion-relation model to fit recent collider results on the total cross section and the elastic-amplitude real part. We find there should be a genuine physical threshold just below the CERN energy range. We suggest identifying this threshold with diffractive production of a new particle of mass ∼30 GeV which may have been seen in mini-Centauro and Geminion cosmic-ray events. By assuming the existence of "strong-interaction" properties for high-energy photons this particle can be consistently identified as an $\eta$ composed of color-sextet quarks. Geminions are then identified as two-photon decay via the anomaly. It seems plausible that most (if not all) cosmic-ray exotic events, including the strongly interacting photon, may be attributable to a strongly interacting color-sextet quark sector of QCD already proposed as the origin of the electroweak Higgs sector. We discuss how this sector should contribute to collider diffractive cross sections.

• Received 19 March 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.42.835