Interpreting anomalous electron pairs as new particle decays

In heavy particle decays found in cosmic ray interactions recorded in the J ACEE emulsion chambers, multiple electron pairs were previously reported. T hese pairs apparently originated from conversions of photons emitted in the decays. It is difficult to explain the overall properties of these decays in terms of known heavy particle decay modes. A recently published compilat ion of low-energy nuclear data suggests the presence of excess electron pai rs with invariant mass of about 9 MeV/c(2), which may be explained by postu lating the existence of a new neutral boson decaying into the electron pair . The feasibility of explaining the JACEE electron pairs with this hypothes is is presented.