TITRE DU COURS

HYPERON-NUCLEON INTERACTION, HYPERNUCLEI AND HYPERONIC MATTER ISAAC VIDAÑA Centro de Física Computacional. Department of Physics. University of Coimbra, PT-3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal ABSTRACT Strangeness adds a new dimension to the evolving picture of nuclear physics giving us an opportunity to study the fundamental baryon-baryon interactions from an enlarge perspective. The presence of hyperons in finite and infinite nuclear systems constitute a unique probe of the deep nuclear interior which makes possible to study a variety of otherwise inaccessible nuclear phenomena, and thereby to test nuclear models. Furthermore, there is a growing evidence that strange particles can have significant implications for astrophysics. In particular, the presence of hyperons in the dense inner core of neutron stars is expected to have have important consequences for the equation of state, struture and evolution of such compact objects. In this lecture we will disuss several topics of hypernuclear physics. After a introduction and historical overview, we will address different aspects of the production, spectroscopy and decay of hypernuclei. Then we will present several models for the hyperon-nucleon interaction, and finally, we will examine the role of hyperons on the neutron star properties. I – INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Hypernuclei are bound systems composed of neutrons, protons and one or more hyperons (i.e., baryons ...