Thermal effects on nuclear matter properties

TL;DR

This paper investigates how temperature influences nuclear matter properties using a phenomenological model, aiming to improve astrophysical simulations of neutron star mergers.

Contribution

It introduces a new parametrization of thermal effects on nuclear matter based on a recent theoretical model, facilitating astrophysical applications.

Findings

Temperature significantly affects nuclear matter properties.

The model provides simple parametrizations for thermal effects.

Results are suitable for numerical astrophysical simulations.

Abstract

A quantitative description of the properties of hot nuclear matter will be needed for the interpretation of the available and forthcoming astrophysical data, providing information on the post merger phase of a neutron star coalescence. We have employed a recently developed theoretical model, based on a phenomenological nuclear Hamiltonian including two- and three-nucleon potentials, to study the temperature dependence of average and single-particle properties of nuclear matter relevant to astrophysical applications. The possibility to represent the results of microscopic calculations using simple and yet physically motivated parametrisations of thermal effects, suitable for use in numerical simulations of astrophysical processes, is also discussed.