Properties of Neutron Star Crust with Improved Nuclear Physics: Impact of Chiral EFT Interactions and Experimental Nuclear Masses

A compressible liquid-drop approach adjusted to uniform matter many-body calculations based on chiral EFT interactions and the experimental nuclear masses is used investigate neutron star crust properties. Eight hamiltonians a representative phenomenological force (SLy4) are confronted. We show that some properties of crust, e.g. clusters mass, charge, asymmetry, mostly determined by symmetric close saturation density therefore mainly constrained masses, while other properties, e.g., energy per particle, pressure, sound speed, influenced low-density predictions in matter, where forces substantially differ.