Strangeness in Nuclei and Neutron Stars

We review the present status of the experimental and theoretical developments in the field of strangeness in nuclei and neutron stars. We start by discussing the $\bar K N$ interaction, that is governed by the presence of the $\Lambda(1405)$. We continue by showing the two-pole nature of the $\Lambda(1405)$, and the production mechanisms in photon-, pion-, kaon-induced reactions as well as proton-proton collisions, while discussing the formation of $\bar K NN$ bound states. We then move to the theoretical and experimental analysis of the properties of kaons and antikaons in dense nuclear matter, paying a special attention to kaonic atoms and the analysis of strangeness creation and propagation in nuclear collisions. Next, we examine the $\phi$ meson and the advances in photoproduction, proton-induced and pion-induced reactions, so as to understand its properties in dense matter. Finally, we address the dynamics of hyperons with nucleons and nuclear matter, and the connection to the phases of dense matter with strangeness in the interior of neutron stars.