On July 31 and August 1, the KEK Theory Center Workshop titled “Strangeness in Nuclear Physics: Visiting old, Create new” was held at Tsukuba International Congress Center. This workshop focused on strangeness nuclear physics, such as hypernuclei and kaonic nuclei, and covered a wide range of related topics in hadron and nuclear physics, including large-scale shell model calculations, three-body baryons interactions, neutron star, heavy-ion collisions, and hadron resonances. 

Strangeness nuclear physics is being actively researched at J-PARC, where KEK plays a key role in operations; in particular, hypernuclear experiments have matured to the point where they are considered a Japanese specialty. To date, these fields have grown with experiments and theory acting as two wheels of a cart. The purpose of this workshop was to look back on research that served as turning points in these fields in the past and to generate ideas from them that could help overcome current challenges. The invited speakers did not merely present their past research results, but they also provided detailed explanations of the trial and error involved in the research process and the thought processes that led to their original ideas. Lively discussions took place, including during the breaks. It is believed that participants were able to gain insights for further developing their own research from the “ways of thinking” demonstrated by the speakers. It was truly a workshop that embodied the principle of “learning from the past to innovate for the future.”

This workshop also served as a memorial event for Professor Yoshinori Akaishi (Professor Emeritus at KEK), who passed away last September. Many of the speakers spoked about the influence Professor Akaishi had on their own research. Through their presentations, participants were able to gain insight into Professor Akaishi’s unique way of thinking. It was a truly “heartwarming workshop” where the gratitude of all participants toward Professor Akaishi was palpable.

・Workshop website: https://kds.kek.jp/event/59084/

・Participant information:

96 participants (48 in person, 48 online, including 9 from Myanmar)