Observation of Exotic Meson Production in the Reaction {pi}{sup -}p {yields} {eta}

An amplitude analysis of an exclusive sample of 5765 events from the reaction {pi}{sup -}p{yields}{eta}{prime}{pi}{sup -}p at 18 GeV/c is described. The {eta}{prime}{pi}{sup -} production is dominated by natural parity exchange and by three partial waves: those with J{sup PC}=1{sup -+} , 2{sup ++} , and 4{sup ++} . A mass-dependent analysis of the partial-wave amplitudes indicates the production of the a{sub 2}(1320) meson as well as the a{sub 4}(2040) meson, observed for the first time decaying to {eta}{prime}{pi}{sup -} . The dominant, exotic (non-q{bar q}) 1{sup -+} partial wave is shown to be resonant with a mass of 1.597{+-}0.010{sup +0.045}{sub -0.010} GeV/c{sup 2} and a width of 0.340{+-}0.040{+-}0.050 GeV /c{sup 2} . This exotic state, the {pi}{sub 1}(1600) , is produced with a t dependence which is different from that of the a{sub 2}(1320) meson, indicating differences between the production mechanisms for the two states.