Non-relativistic quark cluster model of the isospin-violating two-nucleon interaction

The violations of isospin symmetry induced in the two-nucleon system at the quark level by the mass difference between up and down quarks are studied in a quark model. Quark dynamics are treated by means of the standard non-relativistic quark model with a quark hamiltonian consisting of a confining harmonic potential, eventually corrected for anharmonicities, and a spin-dependent potential truncated to the contact-gluon-exchange hyperfine interaction. The resonating group method is adopted to treat the six-quark system and we restrict ourselves to configurations of two three-quark clusters with nucleon quantum numbers. π- and sigma-meson-mediated quark interactions are tentatively considered in an attempt to achieve a good matching to the empirical strong NN potentials. We supply explicit formulas for the various kernels. Equivalent adiabatic potentials are calculated for the pp, np and nn systems in low partial waves. We also solve the resonating group scattering equations for these systems and give predictions for phase observables and low-energy parameters. (orig.)