Color octet contribution in exclusive P-wave charmonium decay into octet and decuplet baryons

In the last years, the need for the color octet state in inclusive P-wave c harmonium decay has been firmly established. However, the implications of t his in the corresponding exclusive reactions have not been fully recognized . We argue for the necessity of the color octet in P- and higher-wave quark onium decay. Using a set of phenomenologically constructed baryon wave func tions, we consider the chi(J) decay into an octet and decuplet baryon-antib aryon pair. By doing so, we subject the wave functions to a test of applica bility. We show that the color singlet component alone is insufficient to a ccount for the experimental measurements, and only by including the color o ctet contribution can the partial theoretical decay widths be brought into the range of the data. By the present and earlier applications of the set o f wave functional these show themselves to be reasonable model wave functio ns at around the scale Q(2) similar to 10-20 GeV2.