Color multiplicity in a decay width
= Color multiplicity in a decay width
{title2=$N_c=3$}
For a colorless parent decaying through a color-diagonal interaction into a <quark> and <antiquark>, the three orthogonal matching-color states add incoherently. The inclusive flavor <decay width> is $N_c=3$ times the one-color width. In a parton scattering rate, an initial color average instead cancels the matching final color sum.