Related papers: $\alpha$ particles and the pasta phase
The properties of matter are significantly modified by strong magnetic fields, $B>>2.35\times 10^9$ Gauss ($1 G =10^{-4} Tesla$), as are typically found on the surfaces of neutron stars. In such strong magnetic fields, the Coulomb force on…
We develop a phenomenological statistical model for dilute star matter at finite temperature, in which free nucleons are treated within a mean-field approximation and nuclei are considered to form a loosely interacting cluster gas. Its…
In this Letter, we report on alpha particle emission through the nuclear break-up in the reaction 40Ca on a 40Ca target at 50A MeV. It is observed that, similarly to nucleons, alpha particles can be emitted to the continuum with very…
We investigate the impact of pairing correlations on the behavior of unstable asymmetric nuclear matter at low temperature. We focus on the relative role of the pairing interaction, coupling nucleons of the same type (neutrons or protons),…
We develop a unified model of hadrons and quarks. Within this approach we investigate the phase structure of the model as function of temperature and chemical potential. Computing the equation of state of cold matter we determine neutron…
Context. In the cooling process of a non-accreting neutron star, the composition and properties of the crust are thought to be fixed at the finite temperature where nuclear reactions fall out of equilibrium. A lower estimation for this…
In this work we study the effect of the symmetry energy on several properties of neutron stars. First, we discuss its effect on the density, proton fraction and pressure of the neutron star crust-core transition. We show that whereas the…
In the so-called pasta phases predicted to occur in neutron star crusts, protons are able to move easily over large distances because the nuclear matter regions are extended in space. Consequently, electrical currents can be carried by…
The crust of a neutron star is known to melt at a temperature that increases with increasing matter density, up to about $10^{10}$ K. At such high temperatures and beyond, the crustal ions are put into collective motion and the associated…
In this work we present a calculation of the hamiltonian variables solving the molecular dynamics equations of motion for a system of nuclear matter relevant to the description of nuclear pasta. The temperature is kept fixed by using the…
Ever since the discovery of neutron stars it has been realized that they serve as probes of a physical regime that cannot be accessed in laboratories: strongly degenerate matter at several times nuclear saturation density. Existing nuclear…
A round up of the present status of the conjecture that n alpha nuclei form an alpha-particle condensate in excited states close to the n alpha threshold is given. Experiments which could demonstrate the condensate character are proposed.…
Because of the presence of a liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear matter, compact-star matter can present a region of instability against the formation of clusters. We investigate this phase separation in a matter composed of neutrons,…
We consider polarized neutron matter at low densities. We have performed Diffusion Monte Carlo simulations for normal neutron matter with different population numbers for each species. We analyze the competition between different phases in…
A fully self-consistent model of the neutron star inner crust based upon models of the nucleonic equation of state at zero temperature is constructed. The results nearly match those of previous calculations of the inner crust given the same…
We investigate nuclear matter at finite temperature and density, including the formation of light clusters up to the alpha particle The novel feature of this work is to include the formation of clusters as well as their dissolution due to…
Neutrinos play an important role in compact star astrophysics: neutrino-heating is one of the main ingredients in core-collapse supernovae, neutrino-matter interactions determine the composition of matter in binary neutron star mergers and…
The rates of flavor-changing weak processes are crucial in determining the conditions of beta equilibrium in neutron stars and mergers, influencing the damping of oscillations, the stability of rotating pulsars, and the emission of…
We study the transport properties of nuclear pasta for a wide range of density, temperature and proton fractions, relevant for different astrophysical scenarios adopting a quantum molecular dynamics model. In particular, we estimate the…
The Prototypical magnetic memory shape alloy Ni$_2$MnGa undergoes various phase transitions as a function of temperature, pressure, and doping. In the low-temperature phases below 260 K, an incommensurate structural modulation occurs along…