Impact of the neutron matter equation of state on neutron skin and neutron drip lines in chiral effective field theory

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the neutron matter equation of state influences neutron skin thickness and drip lines in neutron-rich isotopes, using chiral effective field theory to improve nuclear property predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking the neutron matter equation of state derived from chiral effective field theory to nuclear properties like neutron skins and binding energies, including uncertainty quantification.

Findings

Neutron skins increase with neutron-richness.

Uncertainty in the equation of state affects predictions.

Order-dependent effects of chiral EFT are significant.

Abstract

We present predictions of the binding energy per nucleon and the neutron skin thickness in highly neutron-rich isotopes of Oxygen, Magnesium, and Aluminum. The calculations are carried out at and below the neutron drip line as predicted by our model. The nuclear properties are obtained via an energy functional whose input is the equation of state of isospin-asymmetric infinite matter. The latter is based on a microscopic derivation of the energy per particle in neutron matter applying chiral few-nucleon forces together with a phenomenological model for the equation of state of symmetric nuclear matter. We highlight the impact of the neutron matter equation of state at different orders of chiral effective field theory on neutron skins and the binding energy per particle and quantify the uncertainty carried by our predictions.