Q Q q ¯q ¯ potential in string models

We propose a string theory construction for the system of two heavy quarks and two light antiquarks. The potential of the system is a function of separation between the quarks. We define a critical separation distance below which the system can be thought of mainly as a compact tetraquark. The results show the universality of the string tension and factorization at small separations expected from heavy quark-diquark symmetry. Our estimate of the screening length is in the range of lattice QCD. We also make a comparison with the potential of the Q Q q system. The potentials look very similar at small quark separations but at larger separations they differ. The reason for this is that the flattening of the potentials happens at two well-separated scales as follows from the two different mechanisms: string breaking by light quarks for Q Q q and string junction annihilation for Q Q q ¯q ¯. Moreover, a similar construction can also be applied to the Q ¯Q ¯q q system.