$\Lambda N \to NN$ weak interaction in effective field theory

Abstract

The nonleptonic weak $|\Delta S|=1$ $\Lambda N$ interaction, responsible for the dominant nonmesonic decay of all but the lightest hypernuclei, is studied in the framework of an effective field theory. The long-range physics is described through tree-level exchange of the SU(3) Goldstone bosons, while the short-range potential is parametrized in terms of the lowest-order contact terms. We obtain reasonable fits to available weak hypernuclear decay rates and quote the values for the parity-violating asymmetry as predicted by the present effective field theory.