Investigating Possible Existence of Hyper-Heavy Nuclei in Neutron Star Environment

TL;DR

This study explores the potential formation of hyper-heavy, neutron-rich nuclei in neutron star environments using simulations, revealing new fusion mechanisms influenced by neutron wind and background nuclei.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation approach showing how hyper-heavy nuclei could form in neutron star conditions, highlighting a new fusion barrier and synthesis pathways.

Findings

Discovery of a new fusion barrier due to neutron wind

Feasibility of synthesizing hyper-heavy nuclei at high densities

Implications for neutron star signals like X-ray bursts and gravitational waves

Abstract

The synthesis of hyper-heavy elements is investigated under conditions simulating neutron star environment. The Constrained Molecular Dynamics (CoMD) approach is used to simulate low energy collisions of extremely n-rich nuclei. A new type of the fusion barrier due to a "neutron wind" is observed when the effect of neutron star environment (screening of Coulomb interaction) is introduced implicitly. When introducing also a background of surrounding nuclei, the nuclear fusion becomes possible down to temperatures of 10$^{8}$ K and synthesis of extremely heavy and n-rich nuclei appears feasible. A possible existence of hyper-heavy nuclei in a neutron star environment could provide a mechanism of extra coherent neutrino scattering or an additional mechanism, resulting in X-ray burst or a gravitational wave signal and, thus, becoming another crucial process adding new information to the suggested models on neutron star evolution.