THE RHO-MESON AS A COLLECTIVE EXCITATION

A model of the rho-meson as a collective excitation of qqBAR pairs in a system that obeys the modified Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Lagrangian is prop osed. The rho emerges as a dormant Goldstone boson. The origin of the rho-meson mass is understood as a result of spontaneous chiral symmetr y breaking. The low-energy dynamics of rho, pi, omega and gamma is con sistently described in this new framework. The model accounts for the origin of the celebrated Kawarabayashi-Suzuki-Riazuddin-Fayyazuddin re lation.