Related papers: Compositional Freeze-Out of Neutron Star Crusts
The core of a neutron star contains several species of particles, whose relative equilibrium concentrations are determined by the local density. As the star spins down, its centrifugal force decreases continuously, and the star contracts.…
We study thermal relaxation in a neutron star after internal heating events (outbursts) in the crust. We consider thin and thick spherically symmetric heaters, superfluid and non-superfluid crusts, stars with open and forbidden direct Urca…
Exotic non-spherical configurations of nuclei, known as ``pasta" phases, are expected to be present at the bottom of the inner crust of a neutron star. We study the properties of these configurations in catalyzed neutron stars within a…
We construct models for strongly-magnetized neutron star atmospheres composed of mid-Z elements (carbon, oxygen and neon) with magnetic fields B=10^{12}-10^{13} G and effective temperatures Teff=(1-5)*10^6 K; this is done by first…
Few unified equations of state for neutron star matter where core and crust are described using the same nuclear model are available. However the use of non-unified equations of state with a simplified matching between the crust and the…
The surface of hot neutron stars is covered by a thin atmosphere. If there is accretion after neutron star formation, the atmosphere could be composed of light elements (H or He); if no accretion takes place or if thermonuclear reactions…
Accreting neutron stars host a number of astronomical observables which can be used to infer the properties of the underlying dense matter. These observables are sensitive to the heating and cooling processes taking place in the accreted…
An accretion outburst onto a neutron star deposits hydrogen-rich and/or helium-rich material into the neutron star's envelope. Thermonuclear burning of accreted material robustly produces Urca pairs\textrm{---}pairs of nuclei that undergo…
We study the cooling of isolated neutron stars, employing different nuclear equations of state with or without active direct Urca process, and investigate the interplay with the nuclear pairing gaps. We find that a consistent description of…
I give a general overview of the theory of neutron star cooling, emphasizing the intuitive understanding of the effects of the various physical ingredients, including the recently proposed accreted envelopes and neutrino emission from…
We discuss the effect of chemical separation as matter freezes at the base of the ocean of an accreting neutron star, and argue that the retention of light elements in the liquid acts as a source of buoyancy that drives a slow but continual…
We perform a self-consistent calculation of the thermal structure in the crust of a superbursting neutron star. In particular, we follow the nucleosynthetic evolution of an accreted fluid element from its deposition into the atmosphere down…
We study the heat capacity and neutrino emission reactions (direct and modified Urca processes, nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, Cooper pairing of nucleons) in matter of supranuclear density of the neutron star cores with superfluid neutrons…
The composition of the inner crust of neutron stars is usually studied using phenomenological interactions such as Skyrme energy-density functionals. But most of these functionals do not agree well with ab-initio calculations of very dilute…
Globally neutral neutron stars, obtained from the solution of the called Einstein-Maxwell-Thomas-Fermi equations that account for all the fundamental interactions, have been recently introduced. These configurations have a more general…
Models of thermal emission of neutron stars, presumably formed in their atmospheres, are needed to infer the surface temperatures, magnetic fields, chemical composition, and neutron star masses and radii from the observational data. This…
We show that convection driven by chemical separation can significantly affect the cooling curves of accreting neutron stars after they go into quiescence. We calculate the thermal relaxation of the neutron star ocean and crust including…
In this book chapter we review plasma crystals in the laboratory, in the interior of white dwarf stars, and in the crust of neutron stars. We describe a molecular dynamics formalism and show results for many neutron star crust properties…
With the improved accuracy of neutron star observational data, it is necessary to derive new equation of state where the crust and the core are consistently calculated within a unified approach. For this purpose we describe non-uniform…
The early 21st century witnesses a dramatic rise in the study of thermal radiation of neutron stars. Modern space telescopes have provided a wealth of valuable information which, when properly interpreted, can elucidate the physics of…