Calculation of the transport coefficients of the nuclear pasta phase

Abstract

We calculate the transport coefficients of low-density nuclear matter, especially the nuclear pasta phase, using quantum molecular dynamics simulations. The shear viscosity as well as the thermal and electrical conductivities are determined by calculating the static structure factor of protons for all relevant density, temperature and proton fractions, using simulation data. It is found that all the transport coefficients have similar orders of magnitude as found earlier without considering the pasta phase. Our results are thus in contrast to the common belief that the pasta layer is highly resistive and therefore have important astrophysical consequences.