Superfluid properties of the inner crust of neutron stars

Abstract

Superfluid properties of the inner crust matter of neutron stars, formed by nuclear clusters immersed in a dilute neutron gas, are analysed in a self- consistent HFB approach. The calculations are performed with two pairing forces, fixed so as to obtain in infinite nuclear matter the pairing gaps provided by the Gogny force or by induced interactions. It is shown that the nuclear clusters can either suppress or enhance the pairing correlations inside the inner crust matter, depending on the density of the surrounding neutrons. The profile of the pairing field in the inner crust is rather similar for both pairing forces, but the values of the pairing gaps are drastically reduced for the force which simulates the polarisation effects in infinite neutron matter.