CREX- and PREX-II-motivated relativistic interactions and their implications for the bulk properties of nuclear matter and neutron stars

Abstract

We investigate the implications of parity-violating electron scattering experiment on neutron skin thickness of $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$ [calcium radius experiment (CREX)] and $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ [lead radius experiment (PREX-II)] data on the bulk properties of finite nuclei, nuclear matter, and neutron stars. The neutron skin thickness from the CREX and PREX-II data is employed to constrain the parameters of relativistic mean-field models which includes different nonlinear, self- and cross-couplings among isoscalar-scalar $\ensuremath{\sigma}$, isoscalar-vector $\ensuremath{\omega}$, isovector-scalar $\ensuremath{\delta}$, and isovector-vector $\ensuremath{\rho}$ meson fields up to the quartic order. Three parametrizations of RMF model are proposed by fitting CREX, PREX-II, and both CREX as well as PREX-II data to assess their implications. A covariance analysis is performed to assess the theoretical uncertainties of model parameters and nuclear matter observables along with correlations among them. The RMF model parametrization obtained with the CREX data acquires much smaller value of symmetry energy ($J=28.97\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.99$ MeV) and its slope parameter ($L=30.61\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6.74$ MeV) in comparison to those obtained with PREX-II data. The neutron star properties are studied by employing the equations of state composed of nucleons and leptons in $\ensuremath{\beta}$ equilibrium.