Comparison of 1/mQ^2 Corrections in Mesons and Baryons

Abstract

We extend our relativistic quark model to the study of the decay Lambda_b -> Lambda_c ell nu and verify that the model satisfies the heavy-quark symmetry constraints at order 1/mQ^2. We isolate a strong dependence on a parameter which measures the relative distortion in the light-quark wave functions of the Lambda_b and Lambda_c. This parameter and the 1/mQ^2 corrections turn out to be small. The dependence on a corresponding parameter in the meson case leads to large 1/mQ^2 corrections.

9 pages, LaTeX, 3 self-contained LaTeX figures in separate file