Heavy pentaquark states and a novel color structure

Abstract

Encouraged by the observation of the pentaquark states ${P}_{c}^{+}(4380)$ and ${P}_{c}^{+}(4450)$, we propose a novel color flux-tube structure, a pentagonal state, for pentaquark states within the framework of a color flux-tube mode involving a five-body confinement potential. Numerical results on the heavy pentaquark states indicate that the states with three color flux-tube structures, diquark, octet, and pentagonal structures, have the closest masses, which can therefore be called QCD isomers, analogous to isomers in chemistry. The pentagonal structure has the lowest energy. The state ${P}_{c}^{+}(4380)$ can be described as the compact pentaquark state $uudc\overline{c}$ with the pentagonal structure and ${J}^{P}={\frac{3}{2}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ in the color flux-tube model. The state ${P}_{c}^{+}(4450)$ can not be accommodated into the color flux-tube model. The heavy pentaquark states $uudc\overline{b}$, $uudb\overline{c}$, and $uudb\overline{b}$ are predicted in the color flux-tube model. The five-body confinement potential, based on the color flux-tube picture as a collective degree of freedom, is a dynamical mechanism in the formation of the compact heavy pentaquark states.