Stringy Mass Squared Splittings Revisited

An empirically successful mass formula derived long ago from hadronic string models is not explained by symmetries of the QCD lagrangian. Consider that M2 ρ − M2 π = M2 K∗ − M2 K to a few percent accuracy. We derive this and other equal spacing relations using chiral symmetry and a novel Z2 symmetry. We offer an interpretation of this Z2 symmetry as a manifestation of chiral anomalies in a gauge theory with an intrinsic cutoff. PACS: 11.30.Rd; 12.38.Aw; 11.55.Jy; 11.30.Er