Exploring Hyperons and Hypernuclei with Lattice QCD

In this work we outline a program for lattice QCD that wouldprovide a first step toward understanding the strong and weakinteractions of strange baryons. The study of hypernuclear physics hasprovided a significant amount of information regarding the structure andweak decays of light nuclei containing one or two Lambda's, and Sigma's.From a theoretical standpoint, little is known about the hyperon-nucleoninteraction, which is required input for systematic calculations ofhypernuclear structure. Furthermore, the long-standing discrepancies inthe P-wave amplitudes for nonleptonic hyperon decays remain to beunderstood, and their resolution is central to a better understanding ofthe weak decays of hypernuclei. We present a framework that utilizesLuscher's finite-volume techniques in lattice QCD to extract thescattering length and effective range for Lambda-N scattering in both QCDand partially-quenched QCD. The effective theory describing thenonleptonic decays of hyperons using isospin symmetry alone, appropriatefor lattice calculations, is constructed.