Heavy and heavy-light tensor and axial-tensor mesons in the Covariant Spectator Theory

We present the first calculation of tensor and axial-tensor mesons with total spin $J\ge 2$ within the Covariant Spectator Theory. We employ a refined quark-antiquark interaction kernel that incorporates the momentum dependence of the strong coupling, replacing the previously used constant term of the kernel. Global least-squares fits to the masses of experimentally established heavy and heavy-light meson states yield an excellent description of the mass spectrum for $J^P=0^{\pm },1^{\pm },2^{\pm }$, and $3^{\pm }$ using only eight adjustable parameters.