Strangeness Balance in HADES Experiments and the Xi- Enhancement

HADES data on a strangeness production in Ar+KCl collisions at 1.76A GeV are analyzed within a minimal statistical model. The total negative strangeness content is fixed by the observed K^+ multiplicities on event-by-event basis. Particles with negative strangeness are assumed to remain in chemical equilibrium with themselves and in thermal equilibrium with the environment until a common freeze-out. Exact strangeness conservation in each collision event is explicitly preserved. This implies that Xi baryons can be released only in events where two or more kaons are produced. An increase of the fireball volume due to application of a centrality trigger in HADES experiments is taken into account. We find that experimental ratios of K-/K+, Lambda/K+ and Sigma/K+ can be satisfactorily described provided in-medium potentials are taken into account. However, the calculated Xi-/Lambda/K+ ratio proves to be significantly smaller compared to the measured value (8 times lower than the experimental median value and 3 times lower than the lower error bar). Various scenarios to explain observed Xi enhancement are discussed. Arguments are given in favor of the Xi production in direct reactions. The rates of the possible production processes are estimated and compared.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Mechanism of r-mode stability in young rapidly rotating pulsars

We demonstrate that stability of r-modes in young rapidly rotating pulsars might be explained if one takes into account strong medium modifications of the nucleon-nucleon interaction because of the softening of pionic degrees of freedom in dense nucleon matter. Presence of the efficient direct Urca processes is not required. Within our model the most rapidly rotating observed young pulsar PSR J0537-6910 should have the mass $\geq 1.8M_{\odot}$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, minor corrections, to be published in Eur. Phys. J.

Effective chiral theory of kaon-nucleon scattering

We apply the relativistic chiral SU(3) Lagrangian density to kaon-nucleon scattering imposing constraints from the pion-nucleon s- and p-wave threshold parameters at chiral order $Q^2$. The s and u channel decouplet baryon exchange is included explicitly and is found to play a crucial role in understanding the empirical s- and p-wave nuclear kaon dynamics quantitatively.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, invited talk "International Workshop XXVII on Gross Properties of Nuclei and Nuclear Excitations", Hirschegg, Austria, January, 200