Stability of strange quark matter: model dependence

Abstract

The minimum energy per baryon number of strange quark matter is studied, as a function of the strangeness fraction, in the MIT bag model and in two different versions of the Color Dielectric Model: a comparison is made with the hyperon masses having the same strangeness fraction, and coherently calculated within both models. Calculations are carried out in mean field approximation, with one gluon exchange corrections. The results allow to discuss the model dependence of the stability of strangelets: they can be stable in the MIT bag model and in the double minimum version of the Color Dielectric Model, while the single minimum version of the Color Dielectric Model excludes this possibility.