Spin-Dependent Forces and Current Quark Masses

Abstract

The J = (3/2) Δ, J = 1/2 Nucleon mass difference shows the quark energies can be spin dependent. It is natural to expect that the quark wave functions also depend on spin. A spin-dependent quark force is fitted to the proton and neutron magnetic moments, axial charge, and spin content using a (1/2⁺)³ configuration for the quarks and assuming only zero mass u and d quarks are in the nucleon. In the octet, such spin-dependent forces lead to different wave functions for quarks with spin parallel or antiparallel to the nucleon spin. The eigen-energy of this potential is 0.15 GeV higher for quark spin parallel than for the quark spin antiparallel to the proton spin. This potential predicts a single quark energy of 0.37 GeV for mass-less quarks in the Delta. Assuming the quark forces are flavor independent, this potential predicts magnetic moments of a bound strange quark to be very close to those determined empirically from the octet magnetic moments.