Understanding the proton spin "puzzle" with a new "minimal" quark model

Abstract

We investigate the spin structure of the nucleon in an extended Jaffe-Lipkin quark model. In addition to the conventional $3q$ structure, different $(3q)(Q\bar{Q})$ admixtures in the nucleon wavefunction are also taken into account. The contributions to the nucleon spin from various components of the nucleon wavefunction are discussed. The effect due to the Melosh-Wigner rotation is also studied. It is shown that the Jaffe-Lipkin term is only important when antiquarks are negatively polarized. We arrive at a new "minimal" quark model, which is close to the naive quark model, in order to understand the proton spin "puzzle".