The Ω_c-puzzle solved by means of quark model predictions

Abstract

The observation of five Ω_c = ssc states by LHCb [Aaij et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 182001; (2017)] and the confirmation of four of them by Belle [Yelton et al. Phys. Rev. D 97, 051102; (2018)], may represent an important milestone in our understanding of the quark organization inside hadrons. By providing results for the spectrum of Ω_c baryons and predictions for their Ξ_c⁺ K⁻ and Ξ'_c⁺ K⁻ decay amplitudes within an harmonic oscillator based model, we suggest a possible solution to the Ω_c quantum number puzzle and we extend our mass and decay width predictions to the Ω_b states. Finally, we discuss why the set of Ω_c(b) baryons is the most suitable environment to test the validity of three-quark and quark–diquark effective degrees of freedom.