Abnormal nuclear matter and pion condensation

The possibility of nuclear matter undergoing a combined phase transition into abnormal matter and a pion condensate is investigated. Various lagrangians for the meson (σ and π_i) fields, based on the σ-models, are used in mean-field approximation, and the entire system (mesons + nucleons) is treated fully relativistically. Equilibrium conditions of nuclear matter are obtained with NN repulsion, parametrized by the excluded volume approximation. It turns out that the formation of abnormal matter depends crucially on the choice of the σ-model lagrangian and considerably less on the additional pion condensate.     

Stability of nuclear matter against neutral pion condensation

The global stability of the uniform ground state of nuclear matter is tested relative to a π⁰-condensed state characterized by static spin-(isospin-) waves. Strong nuclear correlations are introduced into the trial wave functions for each phase, thereby permitting models of the realistic two-nucleon force to be employed. In low cluster-order comparison, the uniform phases of symmetrical nuclear matter and neutron matter are emphatically favored over the entire density range considered.     

Charge-constrained coherent pion states produced in nuclear matter

In a recent article, Bloss, Hone and Scalapino have used a simplified model Hamiltonian and Keldysh field theoretic methods to approximately calculate the power radiated as Cherenkov charged pions whose emission is triggered when a fast nucleon traverses nuclear matter. The model used by these authors conserves charge by flipping the isospin state of the fast nucleon alone for each charged pion emitted. Since it is the nuclear matter excited by the fast nucleon which should be largely reponsible for emitting the Cherenkov charged pions, we investigate an alternate model that allows all the disturbed nuclear matter to change its charge state when a charged pion is emitted—as an idealization, the emitting matter is assumed to have an infinite number of charge states, in contrast to the two of the fast nucleon. This modified model is shown to be exactly solvable in terms of charge-constrained coherent pion states; the power radiated as charged pions is found to be approximately twice that calculated by Bloss et al. from their model.     

On the properties of asymmetric nuclear matter

The properties of asymmetric nuclear matter withα=(ρ _n-ρ _p)/ρ≦ 0.4 are studied within the framework of the lowest order Brueckner theory, atk _F =1.35fm^?1 (ρ=0.166 fm^?3). TheK-matrix is calculated self-consistently from the Reid soft core nucleon-nucleon interaction. In the case ofρ _n ≠ρ _p theK-matrix contains a term which does not conserve the total isospin of the interacting unlike-nucleon pair. At α=0.4 the relative magnitude of this term is of the order of 1 %. The symmetry energy is found equal to 23.1 MeV.     

Binding energy of asymmetric nuclear matter

The energy per particle of bulk nuclear matter has been calculated in the nuclear matter pair approximation over a wide range of density and symmetry parameter α.     

On relativistic approaches to the pion self-energy in nuclear matter

We argue that, in contrast to the non-relativistic approach, a relativistic evaluation of the nucleon-hole and delta-isobar-nucleon-hole contributions to the pion self-energy incorporates the s-wave scattering, whose magnitude within the RPA is in conflict with the near-threshold behavior imposed by chiral symmetry. As a result, a relativistic approach to the pion self-energy in isospin-symmetric nuclear matter, containing only these diagrams, does not satisfy the known experimental results on the near-threshold behavior of the -nucleon (forward) scattering amplitude.Received: 12 December 2003, Revised: 16 March 2004, Published online: 26 May 2004PACS: 24.10.Cn Many-body theory - 13.75.Cs Nucleon-nucleon interactions (including antinucleons, deuterons, etc.) - 21.65. + f Nuclear matter - 25.70.-z Low and intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions     

Variational calculations of asymmetric nuclear matter

We report on variational calculations of the energy E(ρ, β) of asymmetric nuclear matter having ? = ?_n + ?_p = 0.05 to 0.35 fm^?3, and β = (?_n ? ?_p/g9 = 0 to 1. The nuclear h used in this work consists of a realistic two-nucleon interaction, called v₁₄, that fits the available nucleon-nucleon scattering data up to 425 MeV, and a phenomenological three nucleon interaction adjusted to reproduce the empirical properties of symmetric nuclear matter. The variational many-body theory of symmetric nuclear matter is extended to treat matter with neutron excess. Numerical and analytic studies of the β-dependence of various contributions to the nuclear matter energy show that at ? < 0.35 fm^?3 the β⁴ terms are very small, and that the interaction energy EI(ρ, β) defined as E(ρ, β) ? T_F(ρ, β), where T_F is the Fermi-gas energy, is well approximated by EI₀(?) + β²EI₂(ρ). The calculated symmetry energy at equilibrium density is 30 MeV and it increases from 15 to 38 MeV as ? increases from 0.05 to 0.35 fm^?3.     

Skyrme-Hartree-Fock treatment of asymmetric nuclear matter

Asymmetric nuclear matter is studied, within the Hartree-Fock approach, employing the Skyrme force. It is seen that the asymmetry ratio can be considered to be an order parameter for phase transitions between a solid and a fluid phase.     

Study of various charged p-meson masses in asymmetric nuclear matter

We study the effective masses of p-mesons for different charged states in asymmetric nuclear matter (ANM) using the Quantum Hadrodynamics II model.The closed form analytical results are presented for the effective masses of p-mesons.We have shown that the different charged p-mesons have mass splitting similar to various charged pions.The effect of the Dirac sea is also examined, and it is found that this effect is very important and leads to a reduction of the different charged p-meson masses in ANM.     

Update on pion weak decay constants in nuclear matter

The QCD sum rule calculation of the in-medium pion decay constants using pseudoscalar–axial-vector correlation function,

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is revisited. In particular, we argue that the dimension 5 condensate, , which is crucial for splitting the time (f_t) and space (f_s) components of the decay constant, is not necessarily restricted to be positive. Its positive value is found to yield a tachyonic pion mass. Using the in-medium pion mass as an input, we fix the dimension 5 condensate to be around −0.025 GeV²−0.019 GeV². The role of the N and Δ intermediate states in the correlation function is also investigated. The N intermediate state is found not to contribute to the sum rules. For the Δ intermediate state, we either treat it as a part of the continuum or propose a way to subtract explicitly from the sum rules. With (and without) explicit Δ subtraction while allowing the in-medium pion mass to vary within 139 MeVm_π^*159 MeV, we obtain f_s/f_π=0.370.78 and f_t/f_π=0.630.79.     

Zero-sound branches in asymmetric nuclear matter

A polarization operator constructed in the random phase approximation is used to obtain zero-sound excitations in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter (ANM). Two families of the complex solutions ω_sτ(k),τ= p,n are presented. The imaginary part of the solutions corresponds to the damping of the collective mode due to its overlapping with the particle-hole modes and the subsequent emission of a proton (ω_sp(k)) or a neutron (ω_sn(k)). The dependence of the solutions on the asymmetry parameter is studied.     

Vector mesons in asymmetric nuclear matter

The propagation of a vector meson (ϱ and ω) in dense asymmetric nuclear matter (with the number density of protons and neutrons different) is studied. Of particular interest is the density dependence of the vector meson masses, as also their variation with the asymmetry parameter, mass splitting among the ϱ isospin multiplets and the change of the form of the ϱ meson self-energy or the polarization tensor (II_μν) when the p ↔ n symmetry is broken. Contributions of both the Fermi sea and Dirac vacuum have been considered. It is shown that while the density dependent dressing of the vector meson propagator lifts the dispersion characteristics into the region of instability, the Dirac vacuum on the other hand contributes with opposite sign, thereby enhancing the possibility of stable collective modes even for higher values of vector meson momenta. The role of tensor coupling on the dispersion characteristics is also presented.     

Spinodal decomposition of low-density asymmetric nuclear matter

We investigate the dynamical properties of asymmetric nuclear matter at low density. The occurrence of new instabilities, that lead the system to a dynamical fragment formation, is illustrated, discussing in particular the charge symmetry dependence of the structure of the most important unstable modes. We observe that instabilities are reduced by charge asymmetry, leading to larger size and time scales in the fragmentation process. Configurations with less asymmetric fragments surrounded by a more asymmetric gas are favoured. Interesting variances with respect to a pure thermodynamical prediction are revealed, that can be checked experimentally. All these features are deeply related to the structure of the symmetry term in the nuclear Equation of State (EOS) and could be used to extract information on the low density part of the EOS.     

Delta and pion abundances in hot dense nuclear matter and the nuclear equation of state

Delta and pion abundances in hot dense nuclear matter are calculated self-consistently within a relativistic mean-field model for different equations of state. The density of deltas turns out to be much more sensitive to the effective masses of the baryons than to the stiffness of the equation of state. The results are compared to experimental pion yields from intermediate-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. The influence of deviations from thermal momentum distributions for the baryons is estimated.     

Role of the effective nucleon mass for pion condensation in nuclear matter

The dependence of the threshold for pion condensation in symmetric nuclear matter on the effective nucleon mass $\text{M}{}^1$ is investigated, using extrapolations of $\text{M}{}^1\text{(?)}$ to high densities ?, based on boson exchange mechanisms. It is found that if $\text{M}{}^1\text{(?)}$ decreases below the standard value $\text{M}{}^1\text{=0.8M}$ as the density increases beyond the nuclear matter density ?₀, the critical density is raised considerably beyond ?₀ once short-range repulsive correlations are included.     

Quasi-stationary nonlinear waves in nuclear matter close to pion condensation

The nuclear hydrodynamic model is extended to include the fluctuating spin-isospin density and its interaction with the nuclear matter density. Using the TDHF equations, it is shown that the dynamics of these densities interacting with the pion field can be expressed in terms of the generalized pressures derivable from the generalized nuclear matter equation of state. A phenomenological Skyrme interaction model is used to obtain these pressures. A theory of pion-like spin-isospin quasi-stationary nonlinear waves is formulated from the generalized hydroequations describing the dynamics of a coupled pion nuclear matter system. In the lowest order of nonlinearity, it is proved that the amplitude of the spin-isospin sound wave satisfies a nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The solution of these equations is the amplitude modulated pion-like solitary waves in nuclear matter. When this matter is near the pion condensate, the speed of these nonlinear waves is much smaller than that of the ordinary sound waves. An implication of the solitary waves excited in such nuclear matter produced in heavy ion collisions is discussed. The characteristic signature of breaking of such waves, produced in a heavy ion central collision, is the emission of a delayed component of correlated nucleons (possibly also with a pion) peaked in the forward direction. It may be that the lighter nuclei³He and³H are produced through such a mechanism.     

Microscopic three-body force for asymmetric nuclear matter

Brueckner calculations including a microscopic three-body force have been extended to isospin-asymmetric nuclear matter. The effects of the three-body force on the equation of state and on the single-particle properties of nuclear matter are discussed with a view to possible applications in nuclear physics and astrophysics. It is shown that, even in the presence of the three-body force, the empirical parabolic law of the energy per nucleon vs. isospin asymmetry β = (N - Z)/A is fulfilled in the whole asymmetry range 0≤β≤1 up to high densities. The three-body force provides a strong enhancement of the symmetry energy which increases with density in good agreement with the predictions of relativistic approaches. The Lane's assumption that proton and neutron mean fields linearly vary vs. the isospin parameter is violated at high density due to the three-body force, while the momentum dependence of the mean fields turns out to be only weakly affected. Consequently, a linear isospin split of the neutron and proton effective masses is found for both cases with and without the three-body force. The isospin effects on multifragmentation events and collective flows in heavy-ion collisions are briefly discussed along with the conditions for direct URCA processes to occur in the neutron star cooling. Received: 18 February 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002     

Droplet formation in cold asymmetric nuclear matter

An extended version of the non-linear Walecka model, with ϱ mesons an electromagnetic field is used to investigate the possibility of phase transitions in cold nuclear matter (T = 0), giving rise to droplet formation. Surface properties of asymmetric nuclear matter as the droplet surface energy and its thickness are discussed. The effects of the Coulomb interaction are investigated.