The simplest hypernucleus is the hypertriton (), which consists of one proton, one neutron, and one Λ hyperon. The Λ in this system is very loosely bound, having a separation energy of 130 keV and a large radius of 10.6 fm, compared to about for the deuteron. This loose binding would imply a lifetime similar to a free Λ. However, the measured hypertriton lifetime averaged across all experiments (about ) is substantially shorter than predicted by theory, as the non-mesonic decay mode is expected to be relatively minor; some experimental results are substantially shorter or longer than this average. Σ hypernuclei The existence of hypernuclei containing a Σ baryon is less clear. Several experiments in the early 1980s reported bound hypernuclear states above the Λ separation energy and presumed to contain one of the slightly heavier Σ baryons, but experiments later in the decade ruled out the existence of such states. Results from exotic atoms containing a Σ− bound to a nucleus by the electromagnetic force have found a net repulsive Σ–nucleon interaction in medium-sized and large hypernuclei, which means that no Σ hypernuclei exist in such mass range. However, an experiment in 1998 definitively observed the light Σ hypernucleus . ΛΛ and Ξ hypernuclei Hypernuclei containing two Λ baryons have been made. However, such hypernuclei are much harder to produce due to containing two strange quarks, and , only seven candidate ΛΛ hypernuclei have been observed. Like the Λ–nucleon interaction, empirical and theoretical models predict that the Λ–Λ interaction is mildly attractive. Hypernuclei containing a Ξ baryon are known. Empirical studies and theoretical models indicate that the Ξ––proton interaction is attractive, but weaker than the Λ–nucleon interaction. Like the Σ– and other negatively charged particles, the Ξ– can also form an exotic atom. When a Ξ– is bound in an exotic atom or a hypernucleus, it quickly decays to a ΛΛ hypernucleus or to two Λ hypernuclei by exchanging a strange quark with a proton, which releases about 29 MeV of energy in free space: Ξ− + p → Λ + Λ Ω hypernuclei Hypernuclei containing the omega baryon (Ω) were predicted using lattice QCD in 2018; in particular, the proton–Ω and Ω–Ω dibaryons (bound systems containing two baryons) are expected to be stable. , no such hypernuclei have been observed under any conditions, but the lightest such species could be produced in heavy-ion collisions, and measurements by the