Neutron stars within a relativistic mean field theory compatible with nucleon-nucleon short-range correlations

Abstract

Nucleon-nucleon short-range correlations (SRCs) result in the presence of high-momentum tail (HMT) above the Fermi surface in nucleon momentum distribution. In this work, we introduce HMT corrections in relativistic mean field (RMF) theory to make the theory compatible with the nucleon-nucleon SRCs. The properties of nucleonic stars and hyperon stars are studied within the RMF theory with HMT corrections. After introducing the HMT corrections, the equation of state (EoS) of the nucleonic star becomes softer and the maximum mass is smaller. The particle fractions of hyperon stars are significantly affected by the HMT corrections. The threshold densities of the presence of hyperons are changed dramatically. More importantly, with the introduction of HMT corrections, the mass-radius relations of nucleonic stars and hyperon stars can satisfy the stringent limits provided by the detection of gravitational wave.