Spectrum of Heavy–Light Mesons in the QCD String Picture

Abstract

We describe in detail predictions of the QCD string approach for the masses of the heavy—light D, Ds, B, and Bs mesons, including orbitally and radially excited states. We discuss the role of the proper dynamics of the QCD string in the formation of the spectrum of the heavy—light mesons, with quark self-energy corrections calculated self-consistently in the same picture. We give our predictions in terms of the current quark masses; the string tension—the only dimensional parameter describing the interquark interaction; and the strong coupling constant, which differs for the fine and the hyperfine interactions. The results are compared with the predictions of other models and with the experimental and lattice results.