Speaker
Description
Hyperon-Nucleon interactions are expected to play an important role in the dynamics of Neutron Stars, as well as the quark-hadron transition and cooling which occurred in the early universe. In particular the so-called ‘Hyperon Puzzle’, wherein accounting for Hyperons in neutron star equations of state leads to a disagreement with astronomical observations, shows a need for a better understanding of such interactions.
Due to the short lifetime of Hyperons, probing such interactions is difficult and efforts to place theoretical and experimental constraints on them remains one of the foremost areas of research in the field. Data remains sparse, particularly with regards to the the lesser understood sigma-proton interaction which, according to some models, is expected to appear at lower densities and pressures than other hyperon channels. Hyperon production within nuclear systems have been observed, however there is little world data on the higher lying (\Sigma) and (\Lambda) resonances in nuclear media to help constrain and construct theoretical models.
Recent results from analysis of Jefferson Lab data provide new insights into interactions which are expected to occur deep within neutron stars. Using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS12), hyperon resonances are produced and detected with good resolution, angular acceptance, and efficiency. The results