Abstract
The binding energies of the hypernuclei
3
Λ
H,
4
Λ
H and
5
Λ
He are investigated by a method which includes the effect of a possible hard core in the Λ
0
-nucleon potential. It is found that a central (non-exchange) spin-dependent potential with a hard core of variable radius leads to the observed Λ
0
binding energies. It is shown that the existence of the hyperdeuteron (
2
Λ
H) is most unlikely.