Lattice test of 1/N[subscript c] baryon mass relations

Abstract

1/N[subscript c] baryon mass relations are compared with lattice simulations of baryon masses using different values of the light-quark masses, and hence different values of SU(3) flavor-symmetry breaking. The lattice data clearly display both the 1/N[subscript c] and SU(3) flavor-symmetry breaking hierarchies. The validity of 1/N[subscript c] baryon mass relations derived without assuming approximate SU(3) flavor symmetry also can be tested by lattice data at very large values of the strange quark mass. The 1/N[subscript c] expansion constrains the form of discretization effects; these are suppressed by powers of 1/N[subscript c] by taking suitable combinations of masses. This 1/N[subscript c] scaling is explicitly demonstrated in the present work.