Neutrino-induced hyperon final-state interactions as constraints on the in-medium hyperon potential

Abstract

Hyperon single-particle potentials $U_Y(ρ)$ control propagation in nuclei and hyperon onset in dense matter, where they soften the neutron-star equation of state and reduce the maximum mass -- the ``hyperon puzzle''. We show that charged-current accelerator (anti)neutrino interactions on $^{40}$Ar, producing $Λ$ and $Σ$ inside the nucleus, can constrain these potentials. At SBND and DUNE energies, the trapped-$Λ$ fraction and escaping-hyperon momenta vary monotonically with $U_Λ$ and $U_Σ$, with a kaon-vetoed FSI-$Σ^+$ tag adding sensitivity. Inserted in a GM1 relativistic mean-field equation of state at established hypernuclear/$Σ$-atom depths, the same potentials give $M_{\rm max} = 1.94\,M_\odot$ and $Λ_{1.4}=1034$, below the heaviest pulsars and above the GW170817 bound typical of GM1-class mean fields. A detector-level Fisher forecast yields $δU_Λ\simeq 0.3\,$MeV and $δU_Σ\simeq 3$-$4\,$MeV for fixed low-density exponent $γ$. Since hyperons are produced below saturation, $U_Λ(ρ_0)$ and $γ$ are 99.8\% anti-correlated; marginalising over $γ$ degrades the anchor to $δU_Λ\simeq 5.6\,$MeV ($1.3\,$MeV with a $\pm 0.2$ prior), while $δU_Σ$ is unchanged. For $U_Λ$, comparable systematics arise from hyperon-nucleon final-state cross sections ($-5/{+}2\,$MeV) and the exit-shift/gradient transport prescription ($-6\,$MeV). For $U_Σ$, the same $YN$ uncertainty biases the fit by $\mathcal{O}(150)\,$MeV; removing the $Σ^+$ tag does not cure this, because the $Λ$ momentum spectrum carries most $U_Σ$ information and is itself $YN$-sensitive. The low-density $U_Λ$ anchor is a robust handle, at several-MeV rather than sub-MeV precision. A joint fit with terrestrial and heavy-ion priors gives $M_{\rm max} = 2.21^{+0.04}_{-0.15}\,\,$Msun, set mainly by the external $c_Λ$ prior.