Hypernuclear spectroscopy in the p shell

A comprehensive shell-model approach to Λ-hypernuclear spectroscopy in the p shell is developed. The available data on the spectra of ⁹_ΛBe, ¹²_ΛC, ¹³_ΛC, ¹⁴_ΛN and ¹⁶_ΛO are interpreted in this framework, leading to constraints on the residual ΛN interaction and the one-body Λ-nucleus potential. The mechanism for the formation of Λ hypernuclei via the (K^-, π^-) reaction is treated in the relativistic distorted wave approximation, with careful attention paid to Fermi-averaging of the elementary K^-n → π^-Λ amplitude and recoil corrections. Departures from the simple weak coupling picture, arising from configuration mixing, are emphasized. This leads to approximate dynamical symmetries in hypernuclei which are forbidden in ordinary nuclei by the Pauli principle. Further experiments in the p shell are suggested which may reveal other aspects of ΛN interactions.