Gapless superfluidity in neutron stars: Normal-fluid fraction

TL;DR

This paper investigates gapless superfluidity in neutron stars, revealing that the normal-fluid component can be significant even at zero temperature, which complicates the understanding of neutron star dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic framework to analyze gapless superfluidity in neutron stars and derives an analytical formula for superfluid mixtures.

Findings

Normal-fluid fraction can be finite at zero temperature.

Gapless superfluidity affects neutron star hydrodynamics.

Numerical results suggest more complex neutron star behavior.

Abstract

Our previous investigation within the time-dependent nuclear energy-density functional theory showed that the nuclear superfluids contained inside cold neutron stars could become gapless under certain circumstances. The absence of a gap in the energy spectrum of quasiparticle excitations leads to a specific heat that is comparable to that in the normal phase in sharp contrast with the exponential suppression in the BCS phase of type $^1S_0$ pairing. Here, we further study gapless superfluidity within the same microscopic framework focusing on hydrodynamic properties. In particular, we calculate the mass fraction transported by the normal fluid of quasiparticle excitations, and we find that it can be finite even at zero temperature. We derive an approximate analytical formula for arbitrary neutron-proton superfluid mixtures. We also present numerical results for neutron stars. Our study suggests that the dynamics of neutron stars may be much more complicated than previously thought. The realization of gapless superfluidity in neutron stars and its implications are discussed.