Spin-Flavor SU(6) Symmetry for Baryon-Baryon Interactions

TL;DR

This paper explores how spin-flavor SU(6) symmetry constrains short-range baryon-baryon interactions, explaining observed suppression phenomena through quark Pauli principles and color-magnetic effects.

Contribution

It introduces a symmetry-based framework to understand short-range baryon interactions and explains suppression effects in baryon conversions.

Findings

Suppression of $\\Xi N \to \Lambda\Lambda$ explained by symmetry restrictions.

Suppression of $\Sigma N$ to $\Lambda N$ conversion in specific channels.

Color-magnetic interactions influence the allowed baryon states.

Abstract

Short-range parts of the baryon-baryon ($BB$) interactions are analyzed from the spin-flavor $SU(6)_{sf}\supset SU(3)_f \times SU(2)_s$ symmetry viewpoint. Due to the Pauli principle of quarks, the symmetry structure of the wave functions is restricted at short distances. Consequently, the $BB$ states with the same spin-flavor quantum numbers may be reduced into one or a few spin-flavor states. Such reduction causes repulsion and/or suppression of transitions at short distances. We show that the observed suppression of the $\Xi N \to \Lambda\Lambda$ conversion can be explained following the above argument. It is also applied to the suppression of the $\Sigma N$ to $\Lambda N$ conversion in the spin 1 and isospin 1/2 channel. Furthermore, the effects of the color-magnetic interaction (CMI), which prefers flavor antisymmetric states, to the Pauli-allowed states are discussed.