Strange hadron matter and SU(3) symmetry

We calculate saturation curves for strange hadron matter using recently constructed baryon-baryon potentials which are constrained by SU(3) symmetry. All possible interaction channels within the baryon octet (consisting of N,{Lambda},{Sigma}, and {Xi}) are considered. It is found that a small {Lambda} fraction in nuclear matter slightly increases binding, but that larger fractions ({gt}10{percent}) rapidly cause a decrease. Charge-neutral {l_brace}N,{Lambda},{Xi}{r_brace} systems, with equal densities for nucleons and cascades, are only very weakly bound. The dependence of the binding energies on the strangeness per baryon, f{sub s}, is predicted for various {l_brace}N,{Lambda},{Xi}{r_brace} and {l_brace}N,{Lambda},{Sigma},{Xi}{r_brace} systems. The implications of our results in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and the core of a dense star are discussed. We also discuss the differences between our results and previous hadron matter calculations. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}