A theoretical overview of hypernuclear weak decay

The physics of the weak decay of hypemuclei is briefly reviewed from a theoretical point of view. Special regard is devoted to the recent progress concerning the determination of the non-mesonic decay widths and the asymmetry parameters. Convincing evidence has been achieved for a solution of the long-standing puzzle on the ratio Gamma(n)/Gamma(p). Very recently, it has been shown that the exchange of a pi pi pair in the weak mechanism plays a crucial role in explaining the discrepancies between theory and experiment on the decay asymmetries. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.