In-medium ΛN interactions with leading order covariant chiral hyperon/nucleon-nucleon forces

Abstract

In-medium ΛN interactions are crucial in hypernuclei and neutron star physics. In this work, we study the in-medium ΛN interaction within the relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (RBHF) framework, employing the leading-order covariant chiral hyperon/nucleon-nucleon forces for the first time. We demonstrate that a consistent description of both the experimental cross-section data and the ‘empirical value’ of the Λ single-particle potential can be achieved. This contrasts with the majority of studies in the non-relativistic framework, where higher-order two-body chiral forces are typically required. This study offers a new perspective on the in-medium ΛN interactions, urgently needed in relativistic ab initio hypernuclear physics studies.