Constraining the gravitational binding energy of PSR J0737-3039B using terrestrial nuclear data

TL;DR

This paper links the gravitational binding energy of neutron stars to nuclear symmetry energy parameters, using laboratory data to constrain the properties of PSR J0737-3039B and its formation history.

Contribution

It establishes a correlation between neutron star binding energy and nuclear symmetry energy slope, applying laboratory constraints to astrophysical data for the first time.

Findings

Constraint on the symmetry energy slope L  70 MeV for consistency.

Derived baryon mass of PSR J0737-3039B consistent with electron capture supernova models.

Laboratory nuclear data can inform neutron star structure and formation models.

Abstract

We show that the gravitational binding energy of a neutron star of a given mass is correlated with the slope of the nuclear symmetry energy at 1-2 times nuclear saturation density for equations of state without significant softening (i.e., those that predict maximum masses $M_{\rm max} > 1.44M_{\odot}$ in line with the largest accurately measured neutron star mass). Applying recent laboratory constraints on the slope of the symmetry energy to this correlation we extract a constraint on the baryon mass of the lower mass member of the double pulsar binary system, PSR J0737-3039B. We compare with independent constraints derived from modeling the progenitor star of J0737-3039B up to and through its collapse under the assumption that it formed in an electron capture supernova. The two sets of constraints are consistent only if $L \lesssim$ 70 MeV.