English

Neutron star cooling: Theoretical aspects and observational constraints

Astrophysics 2007-05-23 v1

Abstract

The cooling theory of isolated neutron stars is reviewed. The main cooling regulators are discussed, first of all, operation of direct Urca process (or similar processes in exotic phases of dense matter) and superfluidity in stellar interiors. The prospects to constrain gross parameters of supranuclear matter in neutron-star interiors by confronting cooling theory with observations of isolated neutron stars are outlined. A related problem of thermal states of transiently accreting neutron stars with deep crustal heating of accreted matter is discussed in application to soft X-ray transients.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0306143,
  title  = {Neutron star cooling: Theoretical aspects and observational constraints},
  author = {D. G. Yakovlev and O. Y. Gnedin and A. D. Kaminker and K. P. Levenfish and A. Y. Potekhin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0306143},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

10 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly (Adv. Sp. Res., accepted)