Five-flavor molecular pentaquarks in the $\Xi_b^{(\prime,\,*)} \bar D^{(*)}$ and $\Xi_c^{(\prime,\,*)} B^{(*)}$ systems

Abstract

The discovery of hidden-charm pentaquarks and open-flavor tetraquarks motivates the search for even more exotic hadron configurations. In this work, we investigate genuinely exotic molecular pentaquark candidates comprising five different flavors, focusing on the $\Xi_b^{(\prime,\,*)} \bar D^{(*)}$ and $\Xi_c^{(\prime,\,*)} B^{(*)}$ systems. Employing the one-boson-exchange model with the $S$-$D$ wave mixing and coupled-channel dynamics, we identify the most promising molecular pentaquark candidates comprising five different flavors. These include the $\Xi_b \bar D$, $\Xi_b^{\prime} \bar D$, $\Xi_c B$, and $\Xi_c^{\prime} B$ states with $I(J^P)=0(1/2^-)$, the $\Xi_b \bar D^{*}$, $\Xi_b^{\prime} \bar D^{*}$, $\Xi_c B^{*}$, and $\Xi_c^{\prime} B^{*}$ states with $I(J^P)=0(1/2^-,\,3/2^-)$, the $\Xi_b^{*} \bar D$ and $\Xi_c^{*} B$ states with $I(J^P)=0(3/2^-)$, as well as the $\Xi_b^{*} \bar D^{*}$ and $\Xi_c^{*} B^{*}$ states with $I(J^P)=0(1/2^-,\,3/2^-,\,5/2^-)$. Importantly, these loosely bound states exhibit pronounced spin splittings across different total angular momentum configurations after incorporating the spin-dependent interactions or the channel couplings. In addition, we identify several possible isovector molecular pentaquark candidates within the $\Xi_b^{(\prime,\,*)} \bar D^{(*)}$ and $\Xi_c^{(\prime,\,*)} B^{(*)}$ systems. Our predictions provide clear targets for experimental searches at facilities such as LHCb and Belle II, where the unique five-flavor quark configuration offers a distinctive experimental signature.