Heavy Quarkonium Potential Model and the {}¹P₁ State of Charmonium

A theoretical explanation of the observed splittings among the P~states of charmonium is given with the use of a nonsingular potential model for heavy quarkonia. We also show that the recently observed mass difference between the center of gravity of the ${}^3P_J$ states and the ${}^1P_1$ state of $c\bar{c}$ does not provide a direct test of the color hyperfine interaction in heavy quarkonia. Our theoretical value for the mass of the ${}^1P_1$ state is in agreement with the experimental result, and its E1 transition width is 341.8~keV. The mass of the $\eta_c'$ state is predicted to be 3622.3~MeV.