The J=3/2 Δ, J=1/2 nucleon mass difference shows that quark energies can be spin dependent. It is natural to expect that quark wave functions also depend on spin. In the octet, such spin dependent forces lead to different wave functions for quarks with spin parallel or antiparallel to the nucleon spin. A two component Dirac equation wave function is used for the quarks assuming small current quark masses for the u and d quarks. Then, the neutron/proton magnetic moment ratio, the nucleon axial charge, and the spin content of the nucleon can all be simultaneously fit assuming isospin invariance between the u and d quarks, but allowing for spin dependent forces. The breakdown of the Coleman–Glashow sum rule for octet magnetic moments follows naturally in this Dirac approach as the bound quark energy also effects the magnetic moment. Empirically the bound quark energy increases with the number of strange quarks in the system. Allowing the strange quark wave function similar spin dependence predicts the magnetic moments of the octet, in close agreement with experiment. Differences between the octet and decuplet magnetic moments are also explained immediately with spin dependent wave functions.
Results for the mass difference between the long- and short-lived K mesons for physical quark masses
