Level inversion in kaonic nuclei and the high-density nuclear equation of state

Abstract

It is very difficult for any nuclear model to pin down the saturation property and high-density equation of state (EOS) simultaneously because of high nonlinearity of the nuclear many-body problem. In this work, we propose, for the first time, to use the special property of light kaonic nuclei to characterize the relation between saturation property and high-density EOS. With a series of relativistic mean-field models, this special property is found to be the level inversion between orbitals 2S1/2 and 1D5/2 in light kaonic nuclei. This level inversion can serve as a theoretical laboratory to group the incompressibility at saturation density and the EOS at supra-normal densities simultaneously. Keywords: Kaonic nuclei, Equation of state, Relativistic mean-field theory