  The variational method allows one to study the mixing of interpolators with
different chiral transformation properties in the non-perturbatively determined
physical state. It is then possible to define and calculate in a
gauge-invariant manner the chiral as well as the partial wave content of the
quark-antiquark component of a meson in the infrared, where mass is generated.
Using a unitary transformation from the chiral basis to the LSJ basis one may
extract a partial wave content of a meson. We present results for the ground
state of the rho-meson using quenched simulations as well as simulations with
two dynamical quarks, all for lattice spacings close to 0.15 fm. We point out
that these results indicate a simple 3S1-wave composition of the rho-meson in
the infrared, like in the SU(6) flavor-spin quark model.
