The Bonn nuclear quark model revisited Original Research Article

We present the exact solutions to the equations of the lowest energy states of the colored and color-symmetric sectors of the Bonn quark model, which is image symmetric and is defined in terms of an effective pairing force with image algebraic structure. We show that the groundstate of the model is not color symmetrical except for a narrow interval in the range of possible quark numbers. We also study the performance of the Glauber coherent state, as well as of superconducting states of the BCS type, with respect to the description, not only of the absolute (colored) groundstate, but also of the minimum energy state of the color-symmetrical sector, finding that it is remarkably good. We use the model to discuss, in a schematic context, some controversial aspects of the conventional treatment of color superconductivity.