Thermodynamic properties of nuclear “pasta” in neutron star crusts
نویسندگان
چکیده
Equilibrium phase diagrams for neutron star matter at subnuclear densities are obtained at zero temperature. Spherical, rod-like and slab-like nuclei as well as spherical and rod-like nuclear bubbles are taken into account by using a compressible liquid-drop model. This model is designed to incorporate uncertainties in the nuclear surface tension and in the proton chemical potential in a gas of dripped neutrons. The resultant phase diagrams show that for typical values of these quantities, the phases with rod-like nuclei and with slab-like nuclei occur in the form of Coulomb lattice at densities below a point where the system becomes uniform. Thermal fluctuations leading to displacements of such nuclei from their equilibrium positions are considered through explicit evaluations of their elastic constants; these fluctuations can be effective at destroying the layered lattice of slab-like nuclei in the temperature region typical of matter in the neutron star crust. PACS : 26.60.+c; 97.60.Jd
منابع مشابه
ar X iv : n uc l - th / 0 50 80 44 v 1 2 3 A ug 2 00 5 Dynamical response of the nuclear “ pasta ” in neutron star crusts
The nuclear pasta — a novel state of matter having nucleons arranged in a variety of complex shapes — is expected to be found in the crust of neutron stars and in core-collapse supernovae at subnuclear densities of about 10 g/cm. Due to frustration, a phenomenon that emerges from the competition between short-range nuclear attraction and long-range Coulomb repulsion, the nuclear pasta displays ...
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