The quark-antiquark spectrum from upside down

TL;DR

This paper proposes studying quark-antiquark spectra through higher radial excitations, especially in charmonium, to gain clearer insights into their quantum properties, challenging traditional focus on ground states.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach emphasizing higher excitations and specific quantum configurations for analyzing quark-antiquark spectra, particularly in charmonium.

Findings

Higher radial excitations provide clearer spectral insights.

Configurations with well-defined quantum numbers are more suitable.

Focus on charmonium enhances spectral analysis accuracy.

Abstract

We argue that the spectra of quark-antiquark systems should better be studied from higher radial excitations and, in particular, from configurations with well-defined quantum numbers, rather than from ground states and lower radial excitations, the most suitable system being charmonium.