Inner Crust Of Neutron Stars Research Articles

Superfluid hydrodynamics in the inner crust of neutron stars

The inner crust of neutron stars is supposed to be inhomogeneous and composed of dense structures (clusters) that are immersed in a dilute gas of unbound neutrons. Here we consider spherical clusters forming a BCC crystal and cylindrical rods arranged in a hexagonal lattice. We study the relative motion of these dense structures and the neutron gas using superfluid hydrodynamics. Within this approach, which relies on the assumption that Cooper pairs are small compared to the crystalline structures, we find that the entrainment of neutrons by the clusters is very weak since neutrons of the gas can flow through the clusters. Consequently, we obtain a low effective mass of the clusters and a superfluid density that is even higher than the density of unbound neutrons. Consequences for the constraints from glitch observations are discussed.

Nucleus-nucleus interactions in the inner crust of neutron stars

The interaction between nuclei in the inner crust of neutron stars consists of two contributions, the so-called "direct" interaction and an "induced" one due to density changes in the neutron fluid. For large nuclear separations $r$ the contributions from nuclear forces to each of these terms are shown to be nonzero. In the static limit they are equal in magnitude but have opposite signs and they cancel exactly. We analyze earlier results on effective interactions in the light of this finding. We consider the properties of long-wavelength collective modes and, in particular, calculate the degree of mixing between the lattice phonons and the phonons in the neutron superfluid. Using microscopic theory, we calculate the net non-Coulombic contribution to the nucleus--nucleus interaction and show that, for large $r$, the leading term is due to exchange of two phonons and varies as $1/r^7$: it is an analog of the Casimir--Polder interaction between neutral atoms.

Erratum: Dynamics of the inner crust of neutron stars: Hydrodynamics, elasticity, and collective modes [Phys. Rev. C 87 , 055803 (2013)

Erratum: Dynamics of the inner crust of neutron stars: Hydrodynamics, elasticity, and collective modes [Phys. Rev. C <b>87</b> , 055803 (2013)

Low-density nuclear matter with quantum molecular dynamics: The role of the symmetry energy

We study the effect of isospin-dependent nuclear forces on the pasta phase in the inner crust of neutron stars. To this end we model the crust within the framework of quantum molecular dynamics (QMD). For maximizing the numerical performance, a newly developed code has been implemented on GPU processors. As a first application of the crust studies we investigate the dependence of the particular pasta phases on the isospin dependence of the interaction, including non-linear terms in this sector of the interactions. Our results indicate that in contrast to earlier studies the phase diagram of the pasta phase is not very sensitive to isospin effects. We show that the extraction of the isospin parameters like asymmetry energy and slope from numerical data is affected by higher-order terms in the asymmetry dependence of the energies per particle. Furthermore, a rapid transition from the pasta to a homogeneous phase is observed even for proton-to-neutron ratios typical for a supernova environment.

Twist-averaged boundary conditions for nuclear pasta Hartree-Fock calculations

Background: Nuclear pasta phases, present in the inner crust of neutron stars, are associated with nucleonic matter at sub-saturation densities arranged in regular shapes. Those complex phases, residing in a layer which is approximately 100 m thick, impact many features of neutron stars. Theoretical quantum-mechanical simulations of nuclear pasta are usually carried out in finite 3D boxes assuming periodic boundary conditions (PBC). The resulting solutions are affected by spurious finite-size effects. Purpose: In order to remove spurious finite-size effects, it is convenient to employ twist-averaged boundary conditions (TABC) used in condensed matter, nuclear matter, and lattice QCD applications. In this work, we study the effectiveness of TABC in the context of pasta phases simulations within nuclear density functional theory. Methods: We perform Skyrme-Hartree-Fock calculations in three dimensions by implementing Bloch boundary conditions. The TABC averages are obtained by means of Gauss-Legendre integration over twist angles. Results: We benchmark the TABC for a free nucleonic gas and apply it to simple cases such as the rod and slab phases, as well as to more elaborate P-surface and gyroidal phases. Conclusions: We demonstrate that by applying TABC reliable results can be obtained from calculations performed in relatively small volumes. By studying various contributions to the total energy, we gain insights into pasta phases in mid-density range.

Cold pasta phase in the extended Thomas–Fermi approximation

In this paper, we aim to obtain more accurate values for the transition density to the homogenous phase in the nuclear pasta that occurs in the inner crust of neutron stars. To that end, we use the nonlinear Walecka model at zero temperature and an approach based on the extended Thomas–Fermi (ETF) approximation.

Collective modes in the superfluid inner crust of neutron stars

The neutron star inner crust is assumed to be superfluid at relevant temperatures. The contribution of neutron quasiparticles to thermodynamic and transport properties of the crust is therefore strongly suppressed by the pairing gap. Nevertheless, the neutron gas still has low-energy excitations, namely long-wavelength collective modes. We summarize different approaches to describe the collective modes in the crystalline phases of the inner crust and present an improved model for the description of the collective modes in the pasta phases within superfluid hydrodynamics.

Liquid-gas coexistence versus energy minimization with respect to the density profile in the inhomogeneous inner crust of neutron stars

We compare two approaches to describe the inner crust of neutron stars: on the one hand, the simple coexistence of a liquid (clusters) and a gas phase, and on the other hand, the energy minimization with respect to the density profile, including Coulomb and surface effects. We find that the phase-coexistence model gives a reasonable description of the densities in the clusters and in the gas, but the precision is not high enough to obtain the correct proton fraction at low baryon densities. We also discuss the surface tension and neutron skin obtained within the energy minimization.

Impact of the symmetry energy on nuclear pasta phases and crust-core transition in neutron stars

We study the impact of the symmetry energy on properties of nuclear pasta phases and crust-core transition in neutron stars. We perform a self-consistent Thomas-Fermi calculation employing the relativistic mean-field model. The properties of pasta phases presented in the inner crust of neutron stars are investigated and the crust-core transition is examined. It is found that the slope of the symmetry energy plays an important role in determining the pasta phase structure and the crust-core transition. The correlation between the symmetry energy slope and the crust-core transition density obtained in the Thomas-Fermi approximation is consistent with that predicted by the liquid-drop model.

Role of proton pairing in a semimicroscopic treatment of the inner crust of neutron stars

The TETFSI (temperature-dependent extended Thomas-Fermi plus Strutinsky integral) method for calculating the properties of the inner crust of neutron stars is here extended in the zero-temperature limit to include proton pairing. The main effect is to smooth out the proton shell effects, although the energetically favored value of $Z$, the number of protons per Wigner-Seitz cell, remains at, or close to, 40.

Collective modes in a superfluid neutron gas within the quasiparticle random-phase approximation

We study collective excitations in a superfluid neutron gas at zero temperature within the quasiparticle random phase approximation. The particle-hole residual interaction is obtained from a Skyrme functional, while a separable interaction is used in the pairing channel which gives a realistic density dependence of the pairing gap. In accordance with the Goldstone theorem, we find an ungapped collective mode (analogous to the Bogoliubov-Anderson mode). At low momentum, its dispersion relation is approximately linear and its slope coincides with the hydrodynamic speed of sound calculated with the Skyrme equation of state. The response functions are compared with those obtained within the Landau approximation. We also compute the contribution of the collective mode to the specific heat of the neutron gas, which is relevant for the thermodynamic properties of the inner crust of neutron stars.

Nuclear pairing from microscopic forces: Singlet channels and higher-partial waves

Background: An accurate description of nuclear pairing gaps is extremely important for understanding static and dynamic properties of the inner crusts of neutron stars and to explain their cooling process. Purpose: We plan to study the behavior of the pairing gaps $\Delta_F$ as a function of the Fermi momentum $k_F$ for neutron and nuclear matter in all relevant angular momentum channels where superfluidity is believed to naturally emerge. The calculations will employ realistic chiral nucleon-nucleon potentials with the inclusion of three-body forces and self-energy effects. Methods: The superfluid states of neutron and nuclear matter are studied by solving the BCS gap equation for chiral nuclear potentials using the method suggested by Khodel et al., where the original gap equation is replaced by a coupled set of equations for the dimensionless gap function $\chi(p)$ defined by $\Delta(p) = \Delta_F \chi(p)$ and a non-linear algebraic equation for the gap magnitude $\Delta_F = \Delta(p_F)$ at the Fermi surface. This method is numerically stable even for small pairing gaps, such as that encountered in the coupled $^3PF_2$ partial wave. Results: We have successfully applied Khodel's method to singlet ($S$) and coupled channel ($SD$ and $PF$) cases in neutron and nuclear matter. Our calculations agree with other ab-initio approaches, where available, and provide crucial inputs for future applications in superfluid systems.

Equation of state and thickness of the inner crust of neutron stars

The cell structure of $\ensuremath{\beta}$-stable clusters in the inner crust of cold and warm neutron stars is studied within the Thomas--Fermi approach by using relativistic mean-field nuclear models. The relative size of the inner crust and the pasta phase of neutron stars is calculated, and the effect of the symmetry energy slope parameter $L$ on the profile of the neutron star crust is discussed. It is shown that, while the size of the total crust is mainly determined by the incompressibility modulus, the relative size of the inner crust depends on $L$. It is found that the inner crust represents a larger fraction of the total crust for smaller values of $L$. Finally, it is shown that, at finite temperature the pasta phase in $\ensuremath{\beta}$-equilibrium matter essentially melts above $5\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}6$ MeV, and that the onset density of the rod-like and slab-like structures does not depend on the temperature.

Influence of the symmetry energy on nuclear “pasta” in neutron star crusts

We investigate the effects of the symmetry energy on nuclear pasta phases and the crust-core transition in neutron stars. We employ the relativistic mean-field approach and the coexisting phases method to study the properties of pasta phases presented in the inner crust of neutron stars. It is found that the slope of the nuclear symmetry energy at saturation density plays an important role in the crust-core transition and pasta phase properties. The correlation between the symmetry energy slope and the crust-core transition density obtained in this study is consistent with those obtained by other methods.

Imprint of the symmetry energy on the inner crust and strangeness content of neutron stars

In this work we study the effect of the symmetry energy on several properties of neutron stars. First, we discuss its effect on the density, proton fraction and pressure of the neutron star crust-core transition. We show that whereas the first two quantities present a clear correlation with the slope parameter $L$ of the symmetry energy, no satisfactory correlation is seen between the transition pressure and $L$. However, a linear combination of the slope and curvature parameters at $\rho=0.1$ fm$^{-3}$ is well correlated with the transition pressure. In the second part we analyze the effect of the symmetry energy on the pasta phase. It is shown that the size of the pasta clusters, number of nucleons and the cluster proton fraction depend on the density dependence of the symmetry energy: a small $L$ gives rise to larger clusters. The influence of the equation of state at subsaturation densities on the extension of the inner crust of the neutron star is also discussed. Finally, the effect of the effect of the density dependence of the symmetry energy on the strangeness content of neutron stars is studied in the last part of the work. It is found that charged (neutral) hyperons appear at smaller (larger) densities for smaller values of the slope parameter $L$. A linear correlation between the radius and the strangeness content of a star with a fixed mass is also found.

Pairing properties of the inner crust of neutron stars at finite temperature

We investigate the thermal properties of the inner crust of a neutron star using the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) formalism at finite temperature. We compare our results with the ones obtained solving the same equations, but within the BCS approximation. We observe that for the outermost regions of the inner crust, the two methods can show important differences, in particular when we use them to calculate the neutron specific heat of the system.

Dynamics of the inner crust of neutron stars: Hydrodynamics, elasticity, and collective modes

We present calculations of the hydrodynamics of the inner crust of neutron stars, where a superfluid neutron liquid coexists with a lattice of neutron-rich nuclei. The long-wavelength collective oscillations are combinations of phonons in the lattice and phonons in the superfluid neutrons. Velocities of collective modes are calculated from information about effective nucleon-nucleon interactions derived from Lattimer and Swesty's microscopic calculations based on a compressible liquid drop picture of the atomic nuclei and the surrounding neutrons.

Magnetised Neutron Star Crusts and Torsional Shear Modes of Magnetars

We discuss outer and inner crusts of neutron stars in strong magnetic fields. Here, we demonstrate the effect of Landau quantization of electrons on the ground state properties of matter in outer and inner crusts in magnetars. This effect leads to the enhancement of the electron number density in strong magnetic fields with respect to the zero field case. For the outer crust, we adopt the magnetic Baym-Pethick-Sutherland model and obtain the sequence of nuclei and equation of state (EoS). The properties of nuclei in the inner crust in the presence of strong magnetic fields are investigated using the Thomas-Fermi model. The coexistence of two phases of nuclear matter – liquid and gas, is assumed in this case. The proton number density in the Wigner-Seitz cell is affected in strong magnetic fields through the charge neutrality. We perform this calculation using the Skyrme nucleon-nucleon interaction with different parameterisations. We find nuclei with larger mass and atomic numbers in the inner crust in the presence of strong magnetic fields than those of the zero field case for all those parameter sets. Further we investigate torsional shear mode frequencies using the results of magnetised neutron star crusts and compare those with observations.

Superfluid properties of the inner crust of neutron stars. II. Wigner-Seitz cells at finite temperature

We investigate the superfluid properties of the inner crust of neutron stars at finite temperature for different pairing functionals. We generalize the formalism adopted in previous article to include the effect of the temperature to calculate the specific heat of each given Wigner-Seitz cell. The calculations are done for two pairing forces, Gogny D1 and $V_{\text{low-k}}$, with finite range and a density dependent contact interaction. We compare in such a way the effect of the pairing strength and of the range on the thermal properties of the inner crust.

Inner crust of neutron stars with mass-fitted Skyrme functionals

The equation of state and composition of the inner crust of neutron stars at zero temperature are calculated, using the $T$ $=$ 0 version of the temperature-dependent extended Thomas-Fermi plus Strutinsky integral method, for each of a family of three functionals based on Skyrme-type forces BSk19, BSk20, and BSk21, which are characterized by different degrees of symmetry-energy stiffness, and also for the SLy4 functional. We also solve the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations to calculate the distribution of mass within the inner crust. Qualitatively similar results are found for all four functionals, and in particular the number of protons per Wigner-Seitz cell is in all cases equal to 40 throughout the inner crust.