Can one-loop corrections to the one-gluon exchange potential adequately describe the charmed meson spectrum?

TL;DR

This paper assesses whether one-loop corrected one-gluon exchange potentials in a constituent quark model can accurately reproduce the charmed meson spectrum, highlighting improvements over traditional models and suggesting further refinements.

Contribution

It introduces a modified constituent quark model with one-loop corrections to the OGE potential, improving the description of charmed meson masses and level ordering.

Findings

Mass predictions align with experimental data within uncertainties.

Higher-order interaction terms improve P-wave state descriptions.

The model provides a framework for predicting excited charmed meson states.

Abstract

We investigate the charmed meson spectrum using a constituent quark model (CQM) with one-loop corrections applied to the one-gluon exchange (OGE) potential. The study aims to understand if the modified version of our CQM sufficiently account for the charmed meson spectrum observed experimentally, without invoking exotic quark and gluon configurations such as hybrid mesons or tetraquarks. Within this model, charmed mesons' masses are computed, comparing theoretical predictions to experimental data. The results, within uncertainties, suggest that our theoretical framework generally reproduces mass splittings and level ordering observed for charmed mesons. Particularly, large discrepancies between theory and experiment found in $P$-wave states are, at least, significantly ameliorated by incorporating higher-order interaction terms. Therefore, the findings emphasize that while the traditional quark model is limited in fully describing charmed mesons, enhanced potential terms may bridge the gap with experimental observations. The study contributes a framework for predicting excited charmed meson states for future experimental validation.