The phase transition in hot $\Lambda$ hypernuclei within relativistic Thomas-Fermi approximation

Abstract

A self-consistent description for hot $\Lambda$ hypernuclei in hypothetical big boxes is developed within the relativistic Thomas-Fermi approximation in order to investigate directly the liquid-gas phase coexistence in strangeness finite nuclear systems. We use the relativistic mean-field model for nuclear interactions. The temperature dependence of $\Lambda$ hyperon density, $\Lambda$ hyperon radius, excitation energies, specific heat, and the binding energies of $\Lambda$ hypernuclei from $^{16}_{\Lambda}$O to $^{208}_{\Lambda}$Pb in phase transition region are calculated by using the subtraction procedure in order to separate the hypernucleus from the surrounding baryon gas. The $\Lambda$ central density is very sensitive to the temperature. The radii of $\Lambda$ hyperon at high temperature become very large. In the relativistic Thomas-Fermi approximation with the subtraction procedure, the properties of hypernuclei are independent of the size of the box in which the calculation is performed. The level density parameters of hypernuclei in the present work are confirmed to be almost constant at low temperature. It is also found that the single-$\Lambda$ binding energies of $\Lambda$ hypernuclei are largely reduced with increasing temperature.