Studying ΛN interactions through the 208Pb(e,e’K+)208ΛTl reaction

Abstract

The hyperon puzzle, the observation that the two-solar-mass neutron star existence is hardly explained by all models predicting the appearance of hyperons in the neutron star core, is currently one of the unsolved key issues in the physics of compact stars. To solve the hyperon puzzle an experimental program has been proposed by the Jefferson lab hypernuclear collaboration and approved by the Jefferson Lab (JLab) PAC. This program consists in the study of the reaction (e, e’K) on 40Ca and 48Ca nuclei, aimed at investigating the isospin dependence of hyperon dynamics, and in the study of the reaction (e, e’K) on 208Pb nucleus, which is the subject of this paper and which will take advantage of the fact that 208Pb properties largely reflects those of the uniform nuclear matter present in the interior of the neutron stars making it the ideal tool to investigate neutron star features. The proposal of the study of the reaction (e, e’K) on 208Pb was approved by the Jlab PAC in 2020.