Nonperturbative potential model for light and heavy quark-antiquark systems

Abstract

A potential model based on quantum-chromodynamics (QCD) considerations is developed. The model attempts to overcome the relativistic limitations associated with earlier models by introducing an effective size for quarks. Application of the model Hamiltonian to both light and heavy mesons yields an accurate description of the mass spectrum, radiative transitions, and annihilation widths for a large number of known mesons. Spin-dependent interactions are treated nonperturbatively using standard diagonalization procedures with an oscillator basis set and relativistic kinematics are adopted throughout. The scaling of the potential parameters is found to be similar to simple QCD predictions. Much of the anomalous behavior for pseudoscalar mesons appears to be resolved both for light and heavy mesons.