Large Relativistic Corrections to Nonrelativistic $M1$ Transitions in Heavy Quarkonium

Abstract

As double heavy quarkonia, charmonium and bottomonium are generally considered to have small relativistic corrections and can be treated using nonrelativistic models. However, this is not always the case. In this paper, we employ the relativistic Bethe-Salpeter (BS) equation method to calculate the electromagnetic (EM) radiative decays of heavy quarkonium where the $M1$ transition provides the leading-order contribution. Compared to nonrelativistic method which only computes $M1$ transition, our calculations include $M1+E2+M3+E4$ transitions, where the higher-order multipoles, $E2$, $M3$, and $E4$, account for relativistic corrections. The study finds that relativistic effects are large in such transitions even for bottomonium. For instance: the relativistic corrections in the decays $\psi(nS)\rightarrow\gamma\eta_c(mS)$ ($n\geq m$) range from $68.1\%$ to $83.2\%$, while those for $\Upsilon(nS)\rightarrow\gamma\eta_b(mS)$ range between $65.9\%$ and $75.2\%$.