Nuclear physics with strange particles

Recent progress in the understanding of strange particle interactions with nuclear systems is reviewed. We discuss the relative merits of various reactions such as (K-, π/sup +-/), (π+, K+), or (γ, K+) for hypernuclear production. The structure of /sub Λ/13C is analyzed in some detail, in order to illustrate the role of the ΛN residual interaction and approximate dynamical symmetries in hypernuclear structure. Recent results on the single particle states of a Λ in heavy systems, as revealed by (π+, K+) reaction studies, are used to extract information on the density dependence and effective mass which characterize the Λ-nucleus mean field. Finally, we develop the idea the K+-nucleus scattering at low energies is sensitive to the subtle ''swelling'' effects for nucleons bound in nuclei. 64 refs., 13 figs