HYPERNUCLEAR CURRENTS IN A RELATIVISTIC MEAN-FIELD THEORY WITH TENSOR OMEGA-YY COUPLINGS

The possibility of strong tensor coupling of the (isoscalar) omega(783) meson to hyperons, specifically LAMBDA(1115), has been suggested by several authors during the past decade. This paper studies the effect of this coupling on magnetic properties of hypernuclei, within the framework of the (minimal) sigma + omega model. Our results are analytical and intuitive. They provide physical insight into recent numerical results of Gattone, Chiapparini, and Izquierdo. Additionally, we point out similar effects in transition form factors at moderate momentum transfer, on finite nuclei.