Parametrically narrow tetraquark states containing one heavy quark and one heavy antiquark

Abstract

This paper focuses on tetraquarks containing one heavy quark and one heavy antiquark in the formal limit where the heavy quark masses go to infinity. It extends the theoretical framework developed for tetraquark containing two heavy quarks based on semi-classical analysis and the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. It is shown that for sufficiently small light quark masses, parametrically narrow $q\bar{q}'Q\bar{Q}$ tetraquarks must exist in the formal limit of arbitrarily large heavy quark masses. The analysis is model-independent; it requires no assumptions about the structure of the state or the mechanism of its decay beyond what can be deduced directly from QCD. The formal analysis here is only directly applicable to tetraquarks with large angular momentum and hence does not directly apply to experimentally observed tetraquark candidates. We also discuss the condition needed for a version of the analysis to apply for low angular momenta states. Whether this condition holds can be explored via lattice calculations. Current lattice calculations suggest that the condition is not met. If these preliminary calculations are confirmed, there are strong implications for the nature of the observed tetraquark resonances containing $\bar{c}c$ or $\bar{b}b$ pairs. It raises the possibility that the observed tetraquarks exist and are narrow not because the charm and bottom quarks are extremely heavy, but because they are sufficiently light.