Energy per Particle of Neutron Matter near Nuclear Density

Abstract

The energy per particle of neutron matter in the density range ${10}^{13} \mathrm{to} {10}^{15} \frac{g}{{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}}$ was calculated self-consistently using recent nuclear potentials: the Bressel-Kerman-Rouben potential and the boundary-condition model of Feshbach and Lomon. At low densities the results are in good agreement with other calculations of the energy density of neutron matter. At higher densities, the predicted energy density depends more strongly on the specific potential used. More recent potentials yield somewhat lower pressures for neutron matter (hence a smaller mass range for neutron stars) than those predicted with the Levinger-Simmons potential which has been used as the basis for calculations of neutron-star structure.