Pairing effects in nuclear pasta phase within the relativistic Thomas-Fermi formalism

TL;DR

This paper investigates how pairing effects influence the stability of nuclear pasta phases in neutron stars using the relativistic Thomas-Fermi formalism, revealing conditions where pasta phases are more stable than uniform matter.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of pairing effects on nuclear pasta phases within the relativistic Thomas-Fermi framework, highlighting their role in neutron star physics.

Findings

Nuclear pasta phases can be more stable than uniform matter under certain conditions.

Pairing effects significantly influence the stability of pasta phases.

The study enhances understanding of neutron star crust composition during early stages.

Abstract

Pairing effects in non-uniform nuclear matter, surrounded by electrons, are studied in the protoneutron star early stage and in other conditions. The so-called nuclear pasta phases at subsaturation densities are solved in a Wigner-Seitz cell, within the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The solution of this problem is important for the understanding of the physics of a newly born neutron star after a supernova explosion. It is shown that the pasta phase is more stable than uniform nuclear matter on some conditions and the pairing force relevance is studied in the determination of these stable phases.