Abstract

We explore the properties of quark matter in equilibrium with the weak interactions, containing comparable numbers of up, down, and strange quarks. Witten has recently conjectured that this "strange matter" may be absolutely stable. Using a Fermi-gas model including O (α_c) corrections we establish the conditions under which strange matter in bulk is stable and describe its characteristics. Augmenting our model with surface-tension and Coulomb effects we study strange matter with intermediate baryon number 10²<~A<~10⁷. For low baryon numbers A<~10², we replace the Fermi gas by the bag model and study shell effects and the approach to the bulk limit. Finally, we discuss the phenomenology of strange matter in all its forms.