Isospin and quark model, why isospin is not considered in quark model

In summary, the model says that the combination of spin and isospin should be symmetric, but this is only true for states that are composed of up and down quarks. If we have strange quarks in our system, then the isospin and spin parts of the wavefunction may not be symmetric. Thanks for your question.
  • #1
jjshan
4
0

Homework Statement


why the isospin wave function was not considered in quark model? only the others (flavour, color, space, spin) are considered?


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution

 
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  • #2
Isospin is an SU(2) subgroup of the approximate SU(3) flavor symmetry. If you have already accounted for flavor, it is not necessary to add something new to take isospin into account.
 
  • #3
please explain some thing more than that.
and the total wave function of baryons should be anti symmetric under the exchange of particles(fermions), then the combination of spin part and flavour part should be symmetric because color part is anti symmetric and spatial part is symmetric (note! here spatial wave function is product of spin, flavour, space and color. isospin is not consider.) what about the combination of spin part and isospin part interms of particle exchane?
a model ans said that combination of spin and isospin part should be symmetric, is that correct?
please explain me elaborately
 
  • #4
jjshan said:
please explain some thing more than that.
and the total wave function of baryons should be anti symmetric under the exchange of particles(fermions), then the combination of spin part and flavour part should be symmetric because color part is anti symmetric and spatial part is symmetric (note! here spatial wave function is product of spin, flavour, space and color. isospin is not consider.) what about the combination of spin part and isospin part interms of particle exchane?

The total wave function must be completely antisymmetric. The color part is also completely antisymmetric because baryons have zero color. Therefore, the combination of spin, flavor (which as I said includes isospin) and space must be totally symmetric.

Details on building up the baryonic wavefunctions can be found, for example, in http://www.physics.umd.edu/courses/Phys741/xji/chapter3.pdf, but I can summarize a bit. In those notes, only 2 flavors of quark are considered, so they're dealing precisely with isospin. Since the isospin and spin symmetries are both SU(2), the component wavefunctions can be worked out in parallel. In combining 3 (iso)spin 1/2 particles, we get 8 states, of varying symmetry properties, which are labeled by the total (iso)spin quantum numbers. We can then work out all possible states formed by products ##\psi_\mathrm{spin}\psi_\mathrm{isospin}##, as well as their total symmetry under particle exchange. Finally, we have the spatial part of the wavefunction, for which exchange properties are determined by the orbital angular momentum. For instance, the ##L=0## state is symmetric under particle exchange, while the ##L=1## state is antisymmetric.

For any given identified particle, we need to match its quantum numbers and relative mass up with our table of states.

a model ans said that combination of spin and isospin part should be symmetric, is that correct?
please explain me elaborately

It sounds like whatever you were reading was considering an ##L=0## state. Since the orbital wavefunction is symmetric, then the spin-isospin part must also be symmetric in this case.
 
  • #5
thanks a lot.
could you explain me how the isospin is related with flavour in L=0 state?
if isospin part is symmetric then what about flavour?
 
  • #6
jjshan said:
thanks a lot.
could you explain me how the isospin is related with flavour in L=0 state?
if isospin part is symmetric then what about flavour?

Isospin symmetry is precisely the flavor symmetry if we restrict to the states composed of the up and down quarks. With 2 quarks we build the states from the doublet

$$\begin{pmatrix} \psi_1 \\ \psi_2 \end{pmatrix} = \begin{pmatrix} u \\ d \end{pmatrix}.$$

If we include the strange quark, we have SU(3) flavor symmetry and the triplet

$$\begin{pmatrix} \psi_1 \\ \psi_2 \\ \psi_3 \end{pmatrix} = \begin{pmatrix} u \\ d \\ s \end{pmatrix}.$$

If we were to construct wavefunctions from products of these triplets, a subset of states would be the same as the ones that we constructed from the isospin doublets, but we would get additional states that have at least one strange quark.
 

Frequently Asked Questions About Isospin and Quark Model

1. What is isospin and how is it related to the quark model?

Isospin is a quantum number that describes the symmetry between different types of particles, specifically between protons and neutrons. In the quark model, isospin is used to classify particles into different families based on their charge and spin.

2. Why is isospin not considered in the quark model?

Isospin is not considered in the quark model because it is not a fundamental property of particles. Instead, it is a result of the strong nuclear force that binds quarks together in protons and neutrons. The quark model focuses on the fundamental properties of quarks, such as mass and spin, rather than the emergent properties like isospin.

3. How does isospin affect the behavior of particles in the quark model?

Isospin affects the behavior of particles in the quark model by determining their interactions with each other. Particles with different isospin values will have different probabilities of interacting and changing into other particles. Isospin also plays a role in the decay of particles and the stability of nuclei.

4. Can particles have different isospin values in the quark model?

Yes, particles can have different isospin values in the quark model. For example, the proton and neutron have different isospin values, even though they are composed of the same combination of up and down quarks. This is because they differ in their electric charge and spin, which are also considered in the quark model.

5. Are there any limitations to the quark model due to the exclusion of isospin?

The exclusion of isospin in the quark model does not significantly limit its usefulness. In fact, the quark model has been successful in predicting the properties and behaviors of many subatomic particles. However, it does not fully explain the behavior of particles with higher masses or in extreme conditions, such as in high-energy collisions. Including isospin in the model may help to address these limitations.

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