Strangeness-changing response functions: an alternative approach to hypernuclear structure

We study strangeness-changing response functions as an alternative descript ion of hypernuclear structure. Hypernuclear states are treated in the same manner as any other conventional nuclear excitation that emerges from the r esponse of the nuclear ground state to an external probe. The nuclear respo nse is calculated using a random-phase approximation to an effective relati vistic mean-field model that reproduces bulk properties of normal nuclei. T he relevant meson-baryon vertices are constrained by imposing SU (3)-flavou r symmetry, while the residual hyperon-particle-nucleon-hole interaction is assumed to be mediated by the two lightest S = -1 mesons: the pseudoscalar kaon and its vector partner K*(892). We use this model to analyse the spec tra of O-16(Y) and Ca-40(Y) hypernuclei.