| In this work we report upon a large number of calculations made using a generalized Nambu - Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model that has been extended to include a covariant model of confinement. We discuss the properties of light mesons calculated in a covariant random-phase approximation (RPA). We describe the a0, f0, π, K, η, and η′ mesons and their radial excitations. For the pseudoscalar mesons we include pseudoscalar-axial-vector coupling and report upon calculations of meson decay constants for all the meson states that we consider. In the case of the scalar mesons, the identification of the experimentally observed states with the states of our model is made complex due to the presence of “dynamically-generated” states such as the f 0(400–1200) and the κ(700–900). In this work we provide a precise definition of “intrinsic” and “dynamically-generated” states and present our suggestions for the distribution of scalar, vector and pseudoscalar states into nonets. |
