The Nucleon-Nucleon Potential in the 1/N_c Expansion

The nucleon-nucleon potential is analysed using the 1/N_c expansion of QCD. The NN potential is shown to have an expansion in 1/N_c^2, and the strengths of the leading order central, spin-orbit, tensor, and quadratic spin-orbit forces (including isospin dependence) are determined. Comparison with a successful phenomenological potential (Nijmegen) shows that the large-N_c analysis explains many of the qualitative features observed in the nucleon-nucleon interaction. The 1/N_c expansion implies an effective Wigner supermultiplet symmetry for light nuclei. Results for baryons containing strange quarks are presented in an appendix.