Excited nucleon spectrum using a non-perturbatively improved clover fermion action

We discuss the extraction of negative-parity baryon masses from lattice QCD calculations. The mass of the lowest-lying negative-parity J = 12− state is computed in quenched lattice QCD using an O(a)-improved clover fermion action, and a splitting found with the nucleon mass. The calculation is performed on two lattice volumes, and three lattice spacings enabling a study of both finite-volume and finite-lattice-spacing uncertainties. A measurement of the first excited radial excitation of the nucleon finds a mass considerably larger than that of the negative-parity ground state, in accord with other lattice determinations but in disagreement with experiment. Results are also presented for the lightest negative-parity I = 32 state.