Kaons in Nuclear Matter

Abstract

The kaon energy in a nuclear medium and its dependence on kaon-nucleon and nucleon-nucleon correlations is discussed. The transition from the Lenz potential at low densities to the Hartree potential at high densities can be calculated analytically by making a Wigner-Seitz cell approximation and employing a square well potential. As the Hartree potential is less attractive than the Lenz one, kaon condensation inside cores of neutron stars appears to be less likely than previously estimated.