Cold nuclear matter

TL;DR

This study investigates the structure of nuclear matter at low densities and temperatures using molecular dynamics, revealing crystalline and pasta-like non-homogeneous structures, with implications for neutron star and supernova matter modeling.

Contribution

It demonstrates that non-homogeneous structures are inherent to finite systems with periodic boundary conditions, providing insights into nuclear matter behavior relevant to astrophysics.

Findings

Crystalline structures form near saturation density.

Non-homogeneous pasta-like structures occur at lower densities.

Finite size effects influence the observed structures.

Abstract

The behavior of nuclear matter is studied at low densities and temperatures using classical molecular dynamics with three different sets of potentials with different compressibility. Nuclear matter is found to arrange in crystalline structures around the saturation density and in non-homogeneous (i.e. pasta-like) structures at lower densities. Similar results were obtained with a simple Lennard-Jones potential. Finite size effects are analysed and the existence of the non-homogeneous structures is shown to be inherent to the use of periodic boundary conditions and the finitude of the system. For large enough systems the non-homogeneous structures are limited to one sphere, one rod or one slab per simulation cell, which are shown to be minimal surface structures under cubic periodic boundary conditions at the corresponding volume fraction. The relevance of these findings to the simulations of neutron star and supernovae matter is discussed.