Strong tensor forces and the possibility of high-spin states in the nucleon-antinucleon system

Abstract

The antinucleon-nucleon ($\overline{N}N$) potential, in isospin $I=0\mathrm{}$ states, contains a strong tensor component which is a coherent sum of contributions from different meson exchanges. The large mixing of $L=J-1\mathrm{}$ and $L=J+1\mathrm{}$ orbital momenta induced by the tensor potential can produce $I=0\mathrm{}$ high-spin states ($3^{-}, 4^{+}, 5^{-}$) relatively near to the $\overline{N}N$ threshold.