Variation of hadron masses in finite nuclei

Abstract

The quark-meson coupling model, based on a mean-field description of nonoverlapping nucleon bags bound by the self-consistent exchange of $\ensuremath{\sigma}$, $\ensuremath{\omega}$, and $\ensuremath{\rho}$ mesons, is extended to investigate the change of hadron properties in finite nuclei. Relativistic Hartree equations for spherical nuclei have been derived from a relativistic quark model of the structure of bound nucleons and mesons. Using this unified, self-consistent description of both infinite nuclear matter and finite nuclei, we investigate the properties of some closed-shell nuclei and study the changes in the hadron masses of the nonstrange vector mesons, the hyperons, and the nucleon in those nuclei. We find a new, simple scaling relation for the changes of the hadron masses, which can be described in terms of the number of nonstrange quarks in the hadron and the value of the scalar mean field in a nucleus.