Evidence that the Pomeron transforms as a non-conserved vector current

The detailed dependences of central meson production on the azimuthal angle phi, t and the meson J(P) are shown to be consistent with the hypothesis t hat the soft Pomeron transforms as a non-conserved vector current. Further tests are proposed. This opens the way for a quantitative description of q (q) over bar and glueball production in pp --> p M p. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sci ence B.V. All rights reserved.