Parity Conjugation and Hyperfragments

Abstract

The parity conjugation scheme recently proposed by Lee and Yang entails that $\Lambda$-hyperfragments should exist as parity doublets, so that a given species of hyperfragment should exhibit two distinct lifetimes, corresponding respectively to the degenerate even- and odd-parity hyperfragment state functions. Likewise there should be two distinct ratios of nonmesonic to mesonic decay. The parity exchange interaction of $\Lambda$ particles and nucleons, ${\Lambda }_1+n\rightleftarrows {\Lambda }_2+n$ (where ${\Lambda }_1$ and ${\Lambda }_2$ are the two members of the $\Lambda$ particle parity doublet), gives rise to the possibility of interesting interference effects in hyperfragment decay.