Internal temperatures and cooling of neutron stars with accreted envelopes

TL;DR

This paper calculates the relationship between surface and internal temperatures of neutron stars with various accreted envelopes using updated physics data, revealing how accreted matter influences neutron star cooling.

Contribution

It introduces new models of neutron star envelopes with accreted matter using updated opacities and equations of state, improving understanding of thermal evolution.

Findings

Accreted matter significantly affects neutron star surface temperatures.

Even tiny amounts of accreted matter alter cooling behavior.

Updated physics models refine neutron star thermal evolution predictions.

Abstract

The relationships between the effective surface (T_e) and internal temperatures of neutron stars (NSs) with and without accreted envelopes are calculated for T_e > 5\times10^4 K using new data on the equation of state and opacities in the outer NS layers. We examine various models of accreted layers (H, He, C, O shells produced by nuclear transformations in accreted matter). We employ new Opacity Library (OPAL) radiative opacities for H, He, and Fe. In the outermost NS layers, we implement the modern OPAL equation of state for Fe, and the Saumon-Chabrier equation of state for H and He. The updated thermal conductivities of degenerate electrons include the Debye-Waller factor for the electron-phonon scattering in solidified matter, while in liquid matter they include the contributions from electron-ion collisions (evaluated with non-Born corrections and with the ion structure factors in responsive electron background) and from the electron-electron collisions. For T_e < 10^{5.5} K, the electron conduction in non-degenerate layers of the envelope becomes important, reducing noticeably the temperature gradient. The accreted matter further decreases this gradient at T_e > 10^5 K. Even a small amount of accreted matter (with mass > 10^{-16} Msun) affects appreciably the NS cooling, leading to higher T_e at the neutrino cooling stage and to lower T_e at the subsequent photon stage.