We present a covariant scheme to calculate mesonic transitions in the framework of the Salpeter equation for qq-states. The full Bethe Salpeter amplitudes are reconstructed from equal time amplitudes which were obtained in a previous paper [1] by solving the Salpeter equation for a confining plus an instanton induced interaction. This method is applied to calculate electromagnetic form factors and decay widths of low lying pseudoscalar and vector mesons including predictions for CEBAF experiments. We also describe the momentum transfer dependence for the processes π 0 , η, η ′ → γγ * .

Within the language of quark-gluon and Reggeon exchanges it is possible to relate the total cross section and the production suppression parameter for particles with different flavors to the masses of dressed quarks. We calculated the quenching of the suppression parameter A in the soft region due to the cascade decay of highly excited qq states. The relative production probabilities for Swave hadrons (mesons with J P = O -, 1 -and baryons with JP= t+,++) and P-wave hadrons (mesons with J P = O + , l f , 2 + and baryons with J P = i -, + , I -) are also estimated. Predictions for heavyflavor production ( c , b,t) at superhigh energies are made. In the description of soft hadronic properties it is helpful to use the notion of dressed quarks (or valons), where the masses of the light quarks are approximately given by m u r m d ~300-400 MeV , ( l a ) m, --450-550 MeV . ( l b )For processes where strange and nonstrange quarks participate it is possible to relate the total quark-quark cross section for the production of strange (s) and nonstrange quarks ( n ) as well as the parameter h, =s /n < 1, describing the suppression of the production of strange quarks, to the masses of dressed quarks:according to the calculation of the total and the differential cross sections for ~p and pp collisions within the framework of these two types of couplings, the coupling of the second type [Fig. l(d) or l(f)] is actually found to be d~m i n a n t .~The physical reason for the smallness of the coupling of the first kind compared to the coupling of the second kind is the small size of the Pomeron (the gluonic net) atThe arguments for relation (2) are as follows: In the high-energy region, where it is possible to use the A language of Reggeon exchanges, the total hadron-hadron cross section is described in terms of Pomeron (P) exchange. According to the rules of the so-called 1/N expansion''* the Pomeron is interpreted as a cylindrical gluonic net and accordingly there are two types of

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