Heavy and Heavy-Light Mesons in the Covariant Spectator Theory

The masses and vertex functions of heavy and heavy-light mesons, described as quark-antiquark bound states, are calculated with the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST). We use a kernel with an adjustable mixture of Lorentz scalar, pseudoscalar, and vector linear confining interaction, together with a one-gluon-exchange kernel. A series of fits to the heavy and heavy-light meson spectrum were calculated, and we discuss what conclusions can be drawn from it, especially about the Lorentz structure of the kernel. We also apply the Brodsky–Huang–Lepage prescription to express the CST wave functions for heavy quarkonia in terms of light-front variables. They agree remarkably well with light-front wave functions obtained in the Hamiltonian basis light-front quantization approach, even in excited states.