$\Theta^+$ Hypernuclei

Abstract

We present results for the selfenergy of the $\Theta^+$ pentaquark in nuclei associated with two sources: the $KN$ decay of the $\Theta^+$ and the two meson baryon decay channels of the $\Theta^+$ partners in an antidecuplet of baryons. The first source is shown to produce a small potential, unable to bind the $\Theta^+$ in nuclei, while the second source gives rise to a large attractive potential. At the same time we show that the width of the $\Theta^+$ in nuclei is small, such that, in light and medium nuclei, many bound $\Theta^+$ states would appear with a separation between levels appreciably larger than the width of the states, thus creating an ideal scenario for pentaquark spectroscopy in nuclei.