Normal Nuclear Matter Research Articles

Examining the possibility that normal nuclear matter is quarkyonic

Examining the possibility that normal nuclear matter is quarkyonic

Constraints on Phase Transitions in Neutron Star Matter

Recent inference results of the sound velocity in the cores of neutron stars are summarized. Implications for the equation of state and the phase structure of highly compressed baryonic matter are discussed. In view of the strong constraints imposed by the heaviest known pulsars, the equation of state must be very stiff in order to ensure the stability of these extreme objects. This required stiffness limits the possible appearance of phase transitions in neutron star cores. For example, a Bayes factor analysis quantifies strong evidence for squared sound velocities cs2>0.1 in the cores of 2.1 solar-mass and lighter neutron stars. Only weak first-order phase transitions with a small phase coexistence density range Δρ/ρ<0.2 (at the 68% level) in a Maxwell construction still turn out to be possible within neutron stars. The central baryon densities in even the heaviest neutron stars do not exceed five times the density of normal nuclear matter. In view of these data-based constraints, much discussed issues such as the quest for a phase transition towards restored chiral symmetry and the active degrees of freedom in cold and dense baryonic matter, are reexamined.

Properties of strange quark matter and strange star in a new mass scaling

Previous research studies observed that quark mass scalings typically neglect the inclusion of asymptotic freedom. However, we have introduced a Woods–Saxon-like factor to incorporate the effects of asymptotic freedom into our new mass scaling. Our findings indicate that the equation of state and sound velocity for strange quark matter exhibit different behaviors at zero temperature when using this new mass scaling. This suggests the presence of novel properties in the phase transition and structure of strange stars. Additionally, through numerical calculations, we have successfully obtained a strange star with a mass two times that of the Sun, aligning with astronomical observations. In a parameter group considering first-order perturbation effects, characterized by large C and small D, we have made an interesting discovery: the surface density of the strange star can be lower than that of normal nuclear matter. This observation serves as a possible signal of a phase transition from quark matter to nuclear matter.

Constraint of the Nuclear Dissipation Coefficient in Fission of Hypernuclei.

Experimental studies of nuclear fission induced by fusion, transfer, spallation, fragmentation, and electromagnetic reactions in combination with state-of-the-art calculations are successful to investigate the nuclear dissipation mechanism in normal nuclear matter, containing only nucleons. The dissipation mechanism has been widely studied by the use of many different fission observables and nowadays the dissipation coefficients involved in transport theories are well constrained. However, the existence of hypernuclei and the possible presence of hyperons in neutron stars make it necessary to extend the investigation of the nuclear dissipation coefficient to the strangeness sector. In this Letter, we use fission reactions of hypernuclei to constrain for the first time the dissipation coefficient in hypernuclear matter, observing that this coefficient increases a factor of 6 in the presence of a single Λ hyperon with respect to normal nuclear matter.

Testing the ϕ-nuclear potential in pion-induced ϕ meson production on nuclei near threshold

The near-threshold pion-induced ϕ production off nuclei has been studied in the kinematical conditions of the HADES experiment using a collision model based on the nuclear spectral function. Starting from the elementary reaction π−p→ϕn, absolute differential and integral cross sections for the production of ϕ mesons off a light carbon and a heavy tungsten target have been calculated and compared to the recently reported experimental cross sections. The absolute cross section values are shown to be sensitive to the effective nuclear scalar ϕ and neutron potentials while the transparency ratio is governed by the ϕN absorption cross section. The experimental data are found to be consistent with an attractive ϕ-nucleus potential of ≈ -(50–100) MeV at normal nuclear matter density ρ0 and an effective ϕN absorption cross section of ≈ 12–25 mb. The extracted ϕ-nucleus potential is deeper than previous theoretical and experimental findings as well as those obtained in the present work within the (tρ) approximation with accounting for Pauli correlations from the spin-averaged ϕ-p scattering length reported in a recent ALICE experiment.

Medium modification of the nucleon mechanical properties: Abel tomography case

We investigate how the gravitational form factors of the nucleon undergo changes in nuclear matter, emphasizing the Abel transformation from the three-dimensional (3D) Breit frame to the two-dimensional (2D) light-front frame. Since the gravitational form factors reveal the mechanical structure of the nucleon, we examine also the medium modifications of the energy–momentum, pressure, and shear-force distributions. We scrutinize the stabilities of the nucleon in nuclear matter. For this purpose, we employ the in-medium modified SU(2) Skyrme model to study these mechanical quantities of the nucleon, since it provides a simple but clear framework. In this in-medium modified SU(2) Skyrme model, the modification of pionic properties is performed by using low-energy pion-nucleus scattering data and the saturation properties of nuclear matter near the normal nuclear matter density, rho _0=0.5m_pi ^3. The results reveal how the nucleon swells in nuclear matter as the mass distribution of the nucleon is broadened in medium. We also show that the mean square radii corresponding to the mass and angular momentum distributions increase in nuclear medium. This feature is kept both in 3D and 2D cases. We visualize how the strong force fields inside the nucleon in the 2D plane are distributed and illustrate how these forces undergo change in nuclear matter.

Mapping Topology of Skyrmions and Fractional Quantum Hall Droplets to Nuclear EFT for Ultra-Dense Baryonic Matter

We describe the mapping at high density of topological structure of baryonic matter to a nuclear effective field theory that implements hidden symmetries emergent from strong nuclear correlations. The theory constructed is found to be consistent with no conflicts with the presently available observations in both normal nuclear matter and compact-star matter. The hidden symmetries involved are “local flavor symmetry” of the vector mesons identified to be (Seiberg-)dual to the gluons of QCD and hidden “quantum scale symmetry” with an IR fixed point with a “genuine dilaton (GD)” characterized by non-vanishing pion and dilaton decay constants. Both the skyrmion topology for Nf≥2 baryons and the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) droplet topology for Nf=1 baryons are unified in the “homogeneous/hidden” Wess–Zumino term in the hidden local symmetry (HLS) Lagrangian. The possible indispensable role of the FQH droplets in going beyond the density regime of compact stars approaching scale-chiral restoration is explored by moving toward the limit where both the dilaton and the pion go massless.

Imposing multi-physics constraints at different densities on the neutron Star Equation of State

Neutron star matter spans a wide range of densities, from that of nuclei at the surface to exceeding several times normal nuclear matter density in the core. While terrestrial experiments, such as nuclear or heavy-ion collision experiments, provide clues about the behaviour of dense nuclear matter, one must resort to theoretical models of neutron star matter to extrapolate to higher density and finite neutron/proton asymmetry relevant for neutron stars. In this work, we explore the parameter space within the framework of the Relativistic Mean Field model allowed by present uncertainties compatible with state-of-the-art experimental data. We apply a cut-off filter scheme to constrain the parameter space using multi-physics constraints at different density regimes: chiral effective field theory, nuclear and heavy-ion collision data as well as multi-messenger astrophysical observations of neutron stars. Using the results of the study, we investigate possible correlations between nuclear and astrophysical observables.

The Equation of State of Neutron-Rich Matter at Fourth Order of Chiral Effective Field Theory and the Radius of a Medium-Mass Neutron Star

We report neutron star predictions based on our most recent equations of state. These are derived from chiral effective field theory, which allows for a systematic development of nuclear forces, order by order. We utilize high-quality two-nucleon interactions and include all three-nucleon forces up to fourth order in the chiral expansion. Our ab initio predictions are restricted to the domain of applicability of chiral effective field theory. However, stellar matter in the interior of neutron stars can be up to several times denser than normal nuclear matter at saturation, and its composition is essentially unknown. Following established practices, we extend our microscopic predictions to higher densities matching piecewise polytropes. The radius of the average-size neutron star, about 1.4 solar masses, is sensitive to the pressure at normal densities, and thus it is suitable to constrain ab initio theories of the equation of state. For this reason, we focus on the radius of medium-mass stars. We compare our results with other theoretical predictions and recent constraints.

QCD phase transition drives supernova explosion of a very massive star

The nature of core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions is yet incompletely understood. The present article revisits the scenario in which the release of latent heat due to a first-order phase transition, from normal nuclear matter to the quark–gluon plasma, liberates the necessary energy to explain the observed SN explosions. Here, the role of the metallicity of the stellar progenitor is investigated, comparing a solar metallicity and a low-metallicity case, both having a zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass of 75 M_odot . It is found that low-metallicity models belong exclusively to the failed SN branch, featuring the formation of black holes without explosions. It excludes this class of massive star explosions as possible site for the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements at extremely low metallicity, usually associated with the early universe.

Thermal evolution of neutron stars described within the equation of state with induced surface tension

AbstractWe present a modeling of the thermal evolution of the neutron stars, incorporating an effect of neutron and proton pairing. The considered equation of state with induced surface tension (IST) reproduces properties of normal nuclear matter, fulfills the proton flow constraint, provides a high‐quality description of particle yields created in heavy‐ion collisions, and is equally compatible with the constraints from astrophysical observations and the GW170817 event. The model features strong direct Urca processes for the stars above 1.91 M⊙. Our results show a very good agreement with the available cooling data, including observational data of the compact object in the center of the Cassiopeia A (Cas A), even without introducing nuclear pairing. The rapid cooling rate of the Cas A can be also reproduced by a 1.66 M⊙ star with an atmosphere of light elements, high‐mass 1.955 − 1.96 M⊙ stars with paired and unpaired matter, as well as by a 1.91 M⊙ star with inclusion of neutron and proton pairings in the singlet channel.

Neutron Star Cooling Within the Equation of State With Induced Surface Tension

We study the thermal evolution of neutron stars described within the equation of state with induced surface tension (IST) that reproduces properties of normal nuclear matter, fulfills the proton flow constraint, provides a high-quality description of hadron multiplicities created during the nuclear-nuclear collision experiments, and it is equally compatible with the constraints from astrophysical observations and the GW170817 event. The model features strong direct Urca processes for the stars above 1.91M⊙. The IST equation of state shows very good agreement with the available cooling data, even without introducing nuclear pairing. We also analysed the effect of the singlet proton/neutron and triplet neutron pairing on the cooling of neutron stars of different mass. We show that the description of the compact object in the center of the Cassiopeia A does not necessarily require an inclusion of neutron superfluidity and/or proton superconductivity. Our results indicate that data of Cassiopeia A can be adequately well reproduced by a 1.66M⊙ star with an atmosphere of light elements. Moreover, the IST EoS reproduces each of the observational datasets for the surface temperature of Cassiopeia A either by a rapidly cooling ∼1.955M⊙ star with paired and unpaired matter or by a 1.91M⊙ star with the inclusion of neutron and proton pairings in the singlet channel.

Quenched g_{A} in Nuclei and Emergent Scale Symmetry in Baryonic Matter.

The recent RIKEN experiment on the quenched g_{A} in the superallowed Gamow-Teller transition from ^{100}Sn indicates the role of scale anomaly encoded in the anomalous dimension β^{'} of the gluonic stress tensor Tr G_{μν}^{2}. This observation provides support to the notion of hidden scale symmetry emerging by strong nuclear correlations with an infrared (IR) fixed point realized-in the chiral limit-in the Nambu-Goldstone mode. We suggest there is an analogy in the way scale symmetry manifests in a nuclear medium to the continuity from the unitarity limit at low density (in light nuclei) to the dilaton limit at high density (in compact stars). In between the limits, say, at normal nuclear matter density, the symmetry is not visible, hence hidden.

Asteroseismology: Radial oscillations of neutron stars with realistic equation of state

We study radial oscillations of non-rotating neutron stars (NSs) in four-dimensional General Relativity. The interior of the NS was modelled within a recently proposed multicomponent realistic equation of state (EoS) with the induced surface tension (IST). In particular, we considered the IST EoS with two sets of model parameters, that both reproduce all the known properties of normal nuclear matter, give a high quality description of the proton flow constraint, hadron multiplicities created in nuclear-nuclear collisions, consistent with astrophysical observations and the observational data from the NS-NS merger. We computed the 12 lowest radial oscillation modes, their frequencies and corresponding eigenfunctions, as well as the large frequency separation for six selected fiducial NSs (with different radii and masses of 1.2, 1.5 and 1.9 solar masses) of the two distinct model sets. The calculated frequencies show their continuous growth with an increase of the NS central baryon density. Moreover, we found correlations between the behaviour of first eigenfunction calculated for the fundamental mode, the adiabatic index and the speed of sound profile, which could be used to probe the internal structure of NSs with the asteroseismology data.

Sound velocity and tidal deformability in compact stars

The sound velocity $v_s$ and dimensionless tidal deformability $\Lambda$ are analyzed using the pseudo-conformal model we developed before. In contrast to the conclusion obtained in the previous works in the literature, our model with the upper bound of the sound velocity $v_s = 1/\sqrt{3}$, the so-called conformal sound velocity, set in at a { density relevant to compact stars} $\gsim 2 n_0$ where $n_0$ is the normal nuclear matter density, can accommodate {\it all} presently established nuclear matter and compact-star properties including the maximum star-mass constraint $ \simeq 2.3 M_\odot$. This observation is associated with a possible emergence of pseudoconformal structure in compact star matter---in which the trace of energy-momentum tensor is a nearly density-independent nonzero constant---brought in by a topology change at $2.0 \lesssim n_{1/2}/n_0 \lesssim 4.0$ commensurate with a possible change of degrees of freedom from hadrons.

Constraint to chiral invariant masses of nucleons from GW170817 in an extended parity doublet model

We construct nuclear matter based on an extended parity doublet model including four light nucleons $N(939)$, $N(1440)$, $N(1535)$, and $N(1650)$. We exclude some values of the chiral invariant masses by requiring the saturation properties of normal nuclear matter; saturation density, binding energy, incompressibility, and symmetry energy. We find further constraint to the chiral invariant masses from the tidal deformability determined by the observation of the gravitational waves from neutron star merger GW170817. Our result shows that the chiral invariant masses are larger than about $600\,$MeV. We also give some predictions on the symmetry energy and the slope parameters in the high density region, which will be measured in future experiments.

Pseudoconformal equation of state in compact-star matter from topology change and hidden symmetries of QCD

We construct a new effective field theory approach to the equation of state (EoS), dubbed pseudo-confomal model “PCM, for nuclear and compact star matter entirely in terms of effective hadron degrees of freedom. The possible transition at $n\!\sim$(2-4)$n_0$ (where $n_0$ is the normal nuclear matter density) from hadron degrees of freedom to strongly-coupled quark degrees of freedom, giving rise to a soft-to-hard changeover in the EoS that can accommodate the massive stars observed, is effectuated by the topology change at $n_{1/2}\mathrel{\rlap{\lower3pt\hbox{\hskip1pt$∼$}}\raise1pt\hbox{$>$}}2n_0$ from skyrmions to half-skyrmions without involving local order-parameter fields. The mechanism exploits possible emergence of hidden scale and local symmetries of QCD at high density, leading to a precocious “pseudo-conformal sound velocity $v_{\rm~s}^2=1/3$ (in unit of $c=1$) for $n\mathrel{\rlap{\lower3pt\hbox{\hskip1pt$∼$}}\raise1pt\hbox{$>$}}3n_0$. The resulting prediction signals a drastic departure from standard nuclear many-body theory in the density regime involved in the massive stars. We suggest that the tidal deformability implemented in gravitational waves coming from coalescing neutron stars in LIGO/Virgo-type observations could pin down the location of the topology change density $n_{1/2}$.

The calculation of Binding Energy and Incompressibility, Pressure, and Velocity of Sound of Infinite Nuclear matter Using New One Boson Interaction.

The use of effective nucleon – nucleon (N N) interactions for the determination of nuclear matter properties such as, binding energy per nucleon, incompressibility,K of infinite nuclear matter, pressure 0 and velocity of sound of nuclear matter has been a subject of great interest to nuclear physicists for many decades. The effective interaction usually involved in these calculations has been the Michigan three Yukawa (M3Y) effective interactions whose origin is from G- matrix approach. In this research work however, we have used a newly developed interaction known as new one boson (NOB) effective interaction to carry out similar calculations. This new interaction is based on the Lowest Order Constrained Variational (LOCV) technique. The interaction reproduces the saturation energy of spin and isospin infinite nuclear matter of approximately -16MeV at the normal nuclear matter saturation density consistent with the best available density-dependent interaction derived from the G-matrix approach. The results of the incompressibility obtained using the NOB interaction ranges from 304 to 309 MeV. These values are in good agreement with the values of incompressibility obtained for similar calculations using the M3Y – Reid effective interaction, in which values for K range from 304 to 310 MeV. The results of 0 pressure and velocity of sound of infinite nuclear matter obtained in the present calculations are also in excellent agreement with results of other workers. The results of our present calculations indicate that, the NOB interaction has passed the basic test for an effective interaction. The NOB may therefore be applied to other nuclear matter and optical model calculations to ascertain its reliability.

The Induced Surface Tension Contribution for the Equation of State of Neutron Stars

Abstract We apply a novel equation of state (EoS) that includes the surface tension contribution induced by interparticle interaction and asymmetry between neutrons and protons, to the study of neutron star (NS) properties. This elaborated EoS is obtained from the virial expansion applied to multicomponent particle mixtures with hard core repulsion. The considered model is in full concordance with all the known properties of normal nuclear matter, provides a high-quality description of the proton flow constraints, hadron multiplicities created during the nuclear–nuclear collision experiments, and equally is consistent with astrophysical data coming from NS observations. The analysis suggests that the best model parameterization gives the incompressibility factor K 0, symmetry energy J, and symmetry energy slope L at normal nuclear density equal to 200 MeV, 30 MeV, and 113.28–114.91 MeV, respectively. The mass–radius relations found for NSs computed with this EoS are consistent with astrophysical observations.

Large baryon densities achievable in high-energy heavy-ion collisions outside the central rapidity region

Nuclei are nearly transparent to each other when they collide at high energy, but the collisions do produce high energy density matter in the central rapidity region where most experimental measurements are made. What happens to the receding nuclear fireballs? We calculate the energy loss of the nuclei using the color glass condensate model. We then use a simple space-time picture of the collision to calculate the baryon and energy densities of the receding fireballs. For central collisions of large nuclei at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the CERN Large Hadron Collider we find baryon densities more than ten times that of normal nuclear matter. These results provide initial conditions for subsequent hydrodynamic evolution and could test the equation of state at very high baryon densities.