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I don't understand something about the wave functions of mesons. In my notes it's said that (u,s,d) mesons are composed of pairs $|q\overline q\rangle$ so there are 9 possible states which break into an octet and a singlet. But then it's said that we can form a nonent of pseudoscalar mesons (spin=0) and a nonet of vecttor mesons (spin=1) , but how's that possible if the whole wave function $|\psi\rangle = |space\rangle|flavor\rangle|spin\rangle|color\rangle$ has to be symmetric? Shouldn't the symmetry of the wave function change since the spin wave function for spin 0/1 is antisymmetric/symmetric ? What is the symmetry of the flavor part of the meson wave function, for the 9 possible states ? Can someone please explain this without the group theory math...

Luka8281
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A meson wavefunction does not have to be symmetric or anti-symmetric under interchange of the $q$ and $\bar{q}$, because quarks and antiquarks are not identical particles.

You are probably thinking of baryons. Being composed of three quarks, their wavefunctions must be totally anti-symmetric.

Paul G
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