Hidden-Strangeness Tetraquarks in the Dynamical Diquark Model

The dynamical diquark model describes multiquark exotic hadrons in terms of diquark components nucleated by heavy quarks, and successfully explains multiple features of hidden-charm and -bottom exotics. In a recent paper by Rich Lebed (ASU, co-PI) and Shahriyar Jafarzade (ASU, ExoHad postdoc), the model was applied to the marginally heavy case of hidden-strange states to probe whether mesons near 2 GeV with peculiar properties, such as $\phi(2170)$, $f_2(2340)$, and $X(2370)$, are possible tetraquark candidates. The spin-multiplet average masses is calculated using potentials obtained through lattice simulations and quark models, and the detailed spectra of the expected multiplets were used as a diagnostic to discern the nature of future hadrons likely to be discovered in this mass region by experiments at facilities such as BESIII, JLab, and the EIC.

Papers: Phys. Rev. D 112 (2025), 014034