$K^*$ mesons with hidden charm arising from $KX(3872)$ and $KZ_c(3900)$ dynamics

TL;DR

This paper predicts a new heavy $K^*$ meson with hidden charm arising from three-body interactions involving kaons and charmed mesons, based on constrained two-body interactions and coupled channel calculations, indicating an exotic hadron.

Contribution

It introduces a novel heavy $K^*$ meson with hidden charm predicted from three-body dynamics constrained by known exotic states, not fitting into traditional quark models.

Findings

Predicted $K^*$ with mass ~4307 MeV and width ~18 MeV.

State cannot be explained by simple quark-antiquark models.

Supports the existence of exotic hadrons beyond conventional quark configurations.

Abstract

Inspired by the recent discovery of the pentaquark states $P_c(4450)$ and $P_c(4380)$, which can be viewed as excited nucleon states with hidden charm, we study the three-body interaction of a kaon and a pair of $D\bar{D}^*$ in isospin 0 and 1. We show that the two body interactions stringently constrained by the existence of the $D_{s0}^*(2317)$, $D^*_{s1}(2460)$, $X(3872)$, and $Z_c(3900)$, which are widely believed to contain large $DK$, $D^* K$, and $D\bar{D}^*$ components, inevitably lead to the existence of a heavy $K^*$ meson with hidden charm. Concrete coupled channel three-body calculations yield its mass and width as $(4307\pm 2)- i (9\pm 2)$ MeV with $I(J^P)=1/2(1^-)$. This state, if found experimentally, definitely cannot be accommodated in a $q\bar{q}$ picture, and therefore presents a clear case of an exotic hadron.