Strong effects in weak nonleptonic decays [Thesis

Abstract

In this report the weak nonleptonic decays of kaons and hyperons are examined with the hope of gaining insight into a recently proposed mechanism for the ..delta..I = 1/2 rule. The effective Hamiltonian for ..delta..S = 1 weak nonleptonic decays and that for K/sup 0/-anti K/sup 0/ mixing are calculated in the six-quark model using the leading logarithmic approximation. These are used to examine the CP violation parameters of the kaon system. It is found that if Penguin-type diagrams make important contributions to K ..-->.. ..pi pi.. decay amplitudes then upcoming experiments may be able to distinguish the six-quark model for CP violation from the superweak model. The weak radiative decays of hyperons are discussed with an emphasis on what they can teach us about hyperon nonleptonic decays and the ..delta..I = 1/2 rule.