Nuclear matter in the crust of neutron stars derived from realistic NN interactions

TL;DR

This paper develops a relativistic mean field model with density-dependent couplings to accurately describe inhomogeneous nuclear matter, including pasta phases, in neutron star crusts, aligning with microscopic calculations and finite nuclei data.

Contribution

It introduces a new parameterization of coupling constants that reproduces microscopic nucleon self-energies and bulk nuclear properties within a relativistic framework.

Findings

Accurately models pasta phases in neutron star crusts.

Shows good agreement with Dirac Brueckner Hartree Fock calculations.

Discusses effects of pairing and temperature on nuclear matter.

Abstract

Properties of inhomogeneous nuclear matter are evaluated within a relativistic mean field approximation using density dependent coupling constants. A parameterization for these coupling constants is presented, which reproduces the properties of the nucleon self-energy obtained in Dirac Brueckner Hartree Fock calculations of asymmetric nuclear matter but also provides a good description for bulk properties of finite nuclei. The inhomogeneous infinite matter is described in terms of cubic Wigner-Seitz cells, which allows for a microscopic description of the structures in the so-called ``pasta-phase'' of nuclear configurations and provides a smooth transition to the limit of homogeneous matter. The effects of pairing properties and finite temperature are considered. A comparison is made to corresponding results employing the phenomenological Skyrme Hartree-Fock approach and the consequences for the Thomas-Fermi approximation are discussed.