Hyperonic neutron stars: reconciliation between nuclear properties and NICER and LIGO/VIRGO results

Using an extended version of quantum hadrodynamics,I propose a new microscopic equation of state(EoS)that is able to correctly reproduce the main properties of symmetric nuclear matter at the saturation density,as well as produce massive neutron stars and satisfactory results for the radius and the tidal parameter.I show that this EoS can reproduce at least a 2.00 solar mass neutron star,even when hyperons are present.The constraints about the radius of a 2.00 M_⊙ and the minimum mass that enables a direct Urea effect are also checked.     

Bose-Einstein condensation of anti-kaons and neutron star twins

We investigate the role of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of anti-kaons on the equation of state (EoS) and other properties of compact stars. In the framework of relativistic mean field model we determine the EoS for β-stable hyperon matter and compare it to the situation when anti-kaons condense in the system. We observe that anti-kaon condensates soften the EoS, thereby lowering the maximum mass of the stars. We also demonstrate that the presence of antikaon condensates in the high density core of compact stars may lead to a new mass sequence beyond white dwarf and neutron stars. The limiting mass of the new sequence stars is nearly equal to that of neutron star branch though they have distinctly different radii and compositions. They are called neutron star twins.     

Neutron stars including the effects of chaotic magnetic fields and anomalous magnetic moments

The relativistic mean field(RMF) FSUGold model extended to include hyperons is employed to study the properties of neutron stars with strong magnetic fields.The chaotic magnetic field approximation is utilized.The effect of anomalous magnetic moments(AMMs) is also investigated.It is shown that the equation of state(EOS)of neutron star matter is stiffened by the presence of the magnetic field,which increases the maximum mass of a neutron star by around 6%.The AMMs only have a small influence on the EOS of neutron star matter,and increase the maximum mass of a neutron star by 0.02M_(sun).Neutral particles are spin polarized due to the presence of the AMMs.     

K0 Condensation in Hyperonic Neutron Star Matter

In the framework of the relativistic mean field theory, we investigate K^0 condensation along with K^- condensation in neutron star matter including the baryon octet. The results show that both K^0 and K^- condensations can occur well in the core of the maximum mass stars for relatively shallow optical potentials of K^- in the range of-100 MeV～ -160 MeV. With the increasing optical potential of K^-, the critical densities of K^- decrease and the species of baryons appearing in neutron stars become fewer. The main role of K^0 condensation is to make the abundances of particles become identical leading to isospin saturated symmetric matter including antikaons, nucleons and hyperons. K^- condensation is chiefly responsible for the softening of the corresponding equation of state, which leads to a large reduction in the maximum masses of neutron stars. In the core of massive neutron stars, neutron star matter including rich particle species, such as antikaons, nucleons and hyperons, may exist.     

Radial oscillations of neutron stars in strong magnetic fields

The eigen frequencies of radial pulsations of neutron stars are calculated in a strong magnetic field. At low densities we use the magnetic BPS equation of state (EOS) similar to that obtained by Lai and Shapiro while at high densities the EOS obtained from the relativistic nuclear mean field theory is taken and extended to include strong magnetic field. It is found that magnetized neutron stars support higher maximum mass whereas the effect of magnetic field on radial stability for observed neutron star masses is minimal.     

Magnetic monopoles in neutron stars

The effects of monopole-antimonopole annihilation on a previously reported bound [1] on the product of the galactic flux of grand unified magnetic monopoles and the cross section for monopole catalyzed nucleon decay: (F_M/cm^?2s^?1sr^?1)(σ_ΔB/10^?2 cm²) ? 10^?22 are examined for several models of neutron star interiors. For neutron stars with superconducting interiors or large internal magnetic fields this bound is unaltered. In the unlikely event that old neutron stars are not superconducting and have internal magnetic fields B_int ? 10⁸ Gauss the effects of monopole-antimonopole annihilation relax the bound to (F_M/cm^?2 s^?1 sr^?1)(σ_ΔB/10^?27 cm^?2)² ? 10^?18. Magnetic monopoles may also have a significant effect on the structure of the interior magnetic field in neutron stars.     

Constraints on the symmetry energy using the mass-radius relation of neutron stars

The nuclear symmetry energy is intimately connected with nuclear astrophysics. This contribution focuses on the estimation of the symmetry energy from experiment and how it is related to the structure of neutron stars. The most important connection is between the radii of neutron stars and the pressure of neutron star matter in the vicinity of the nuclear saturation density n_s. This pressure is essentially controlled by the nuclear symmetry energy parameters S_v and L , the first two coefficients of a Taylor expansion of the symmetry energy around n_s. We discuss constraints on these parameters that can be found from nuclear experiments. We demonstrate that these constraints are largely model-independent by deriving them qualitatively from a simple nuclear model. We also summarize how recent theoretical studies of pure neutron matter can reinforce these constraints. To date, several different astrophysical measurements of neutron star radii have been attempted. Attention is focused on photospheric radius expansion bursts and on thermal emissions from quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries. While none of these observations can, at the present time, determine individual neutron star radii to better than 20% accuracy, the body of observations can be used with Bayesian techniques to effectively constrain them to higher precision. These techniques invert the structure equations and obtain estimates of the pressure-density relation of neutron star matter, not only near n_s, but up to the highest densities found in neutron star interiors. The estimates we derive for neutron star radii are in concordance with predictions from nuclear experiment and theory.     

软物态方程支持大质量中子星机制概述

重离子碰撞实验分析及相关理论研究认为高密度非对称核物质可能具有较软的物态方程;在约2～3倍饱和核密度下超子等奇异物质的出现也可能会使物态方程变软。然而,软物态方程却无法支持大质量中子星。脉冲星PSR J1614-2230具有大质量(1.97±0.04)M⊙的观测发现使这一矛盾变得尤为突出。为了解决该矛盾,人们提出了各种可能的物理机制:包括考虑修正的引力理论、修改描述高密度物质物态的理论模型等。在概述和讨论这些能使软物态方程支持大质量中子星的可能物理机制的基础上,还计算和讨论了强电场、强磁场对中子星最大质量的影响,发现强电磁场可以有效地增大中子星的最大质量。     

Thermal properties and detectability of neutron stars - I cooling and heating of neutron stars

In this report, we first review earlier and recent developments in some of thermodynamic problems of neutron stars, especially those involving cooling mechanisms and theoretical predictions of surface temperatures of neutron stars. Emphasis is placed particularly on: the effect of equations of state and hence that of nuclear and strong interactions; the effect of better treatment of various neutrino cooling mechanisms, especially those involving pion condensates; and implication of these better and more detailed theoretical estimates on the prospect of directly observing thermal radiation from the surface of neutron stars. In connection with the last problem, we briefly review recent developments on the observational side — the HEAO-B and other programs already existing or expected to be planned for near future, which are directly related to the above problem. In connection with the possibilities of observing older neutron stars we briefly summarise various heating mechanisms.From these studies, we see that exciting possibilities exist through the HEAO-B and some other programs which may be realised in the 1980's, that we may observe radiation directly from neutron star surfaces if they are ? (3?5) × 10⁵°K. If such radiation is detected, the observed surface temperatures and further spectral studies may give invaluable insight into various important problems, such as magnetic properties of dense matter, equations of state, pion condensates, and other fundamental problems in nuclear, particle and high energy physics. If the surface temperatures of younger members of these stars (? 10⁴ years) are observationally found to be less than ≈ (5?10) × 10⁵°K (depending on the individual objects), we note that at the moment only pion coolings are consistent with observations, and the outcome may be equally far reaching. Among various observed neutron stars (pulsars) and neutron star candidates (e.g. supernova remnants), the Vela pulsar may prove to be the most rewarding one. If regular pulsar-like periodicities are discovered in radiations from any of supernova remnants, we can assume the presence of neutron stars in these objects. In that case, some supernova remnants, such as SN 1006, may also turn out to be promising. If we defect surface radiations from older pulsars (? 10⁵ years), that may support some of heating theories. At the end, we point out that there may be many point sources of very soft weak thermal X-rays across the sky (as old neutron stars accrete interstellar matter) and some of the closest ones may be detectable through the HEAO-B and similar devices.     

Hypernuclear physics for neutron stars

The role of hypernuclear physics for the physics of neutron stars is delineated. Hypernuclear potentials in dense matter control the hyperon composition of dense neutron star matter. The three-body interactions of nucleons and hyperons determine the stiffness of the neutron star equation of state and thereby the maximum neutron star mass. Two-body hyperon–nucleon and hyperon–hyperon interactions give rise to hyperon pairing which exponentially suppresses cooling of neutron stars via the direct hyperon URCA processes. Nonmesonic weak reactions with hyperons in dense neutron star matter govern the gravitational wave emissions due to the r-mode instability of rotating neutron stars.     

Magnetic collapse of a neutron gas: Can magnetars indeed be formed?

A relativistic degenerate neutron gas in equilibrium with a background of electrons and protons in a magnetic field exerts its pressure anisotropically, having a smaller value perpendicular to than along the magnetic field. For critical fields the magnetic pressure may produce the vanishing of the equatorial pressure of the neutron gas. Taking this as a model for neutron stars, the outcome could be a transverse collapse of the star. This fixes a limit to the fields to be observable in stable neutron star pulsars as a function of their density. The final structure left over after the implosion might be a mixed phase of nucleons and a meson condensate, a strange star, or a highly distorted black hole or black ”cigar”, but not a magnetar, if viewed as a superstrongly magnetized neutron star. However, we do not exclude the possibility of superstrong magnetic fields arising in supernova explosions which lead directly to strange stars. In other words, if any magnetars exist, they cannot be neutron stars. Received: 25 November 2002 / Revised version: 25 February 2003 / Published online: 5 May 2003     

Hyperons in neutron stars

Generalized beta equilibrium involving nucleons, hyperons and isobars is examined for neutron star matter. The hyperons produce a considerable softening of the equation of state. It is shown that the observed masses of neutron stars can be used to settle a recent controversy concerning the nuclear compressibility. Compressibilities less than 200 MeV are incompatible with observed masses.     

Neutron star matter in a modified PNJL model

We discuss a three-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model for the quark matter equation of state with scalar diquark interaction, isoscalar vector interaction and Kobayashi-Maskawa-??t Hooft interaction. We adopt a phenomenological scheme to include possible effects of a change in the gluon pressure at finite baryon density by including a parametric dependence of the Polyakov-loop potential on the chemical potential. We discuss the results for the mass-radius relationships for hybrid neutron stars constructed on the basis of our model EoS in the context of the constraint from the recently measured mass of (1.97 ± 0.04) M _?? for the pulsar PSR J1614-2230.     

Neutron star magnetism

It is shown that

1. an appreciable change of magnetic moment of a neutron star cannot occur via ohmic dissipation
2. pulsars provide evidence for large internal magnetic fields in main sequence stars. If pulsars are born from stars with masses exceeding 3 ?_⊙ the internal field must be of the order of 10³-10⁴ Gauss while if they derived from less massive urstars 10² Gauss are sufficient to give rise to a magnetic moment ofM～10³⁰ Gauss cm³.

     

Symmetry energy impact in simulations of core-collapse supernovae

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 first two quantities present a clear correlation with the slope parameter L of the symmetry energy, no satisfactory correlation is seen between the transition pressure and L . However, a linear combination of the slope and curvature parameters at ρ = 0.1 fm^?3 is well correlated with the transition pressure. In the second part we analyze the effect of the symmetry energy on the pasta phase. It is shown that the size of the pasta clusters, number of nucleons and the cluster proton fraction depend on the density dependence of the symmetry energy: a small L gives rise to larger clusters. The influence of the equation of state at subsaturation densities on the extension of the inner crust of the neutron star is also discussed. Finally, the effect of the density dependence of the symmetry energy on the strangeness content of neutron stars is studied in the last part of the work. It is found that charged (neutral) hyperons appear at smaller (larger) densities for smaller values of the slope parameter L. A linear correlation between the radius and the strangeness content of a star with a fixed mass is also found.     

Neutron star matter superfluidity and superconductivity

The possibility of superfluidity or superconductivity in neutron or proton subsystems in the nuclear-matter region in neutron stars is investigated. The energy gap and corresponding critical temperature and critical magnetic field is calculated or estimated as function of density or Fermi momentum. In the calculations are used reaction matrix elements calculated earlier by means of Brueckner theory by the author. The final results indicate that neutron superfluidity, corresponding specifically toS-state pairing, may exist in a low-density shell in the nuclear-matter region of a neutron star. There is probably anisotropic neutron superfluidity, corresponding to the³ P ₂ or the singletD state, for higher densities. Superfluidity or superconductivity, corresponding toS-state pairing for the proton subsystem, is quite likely in most of the nuclear-matter region. The expected temperatures and magnetic fields in neutron stars seem to be well below the estimated critical temperatures or critical magnetic fields corresponding to the calculated values of the energy gap. However, similar methods have earlier predicted a much too high critical temperature for liquid³He.     

Asymmetry of neutrino emission from neutron beta decay in superdense matter and a strong magnetic field

The probability of neutron beta decay in the presence of degenerate magnetized matter consisting of electrons, protons, and neutrons is calculated by using exact solutions to the Dirac equation for charged particles in a uniform magnetic field. The asymmetry of the angular distribution of the momentum carried away by product antineutrinos is studied with allowance for the effect of a strong magnetic field. The values of basic parameters (magnetic-field strength, matter density, and matter temperature) that affect the reaction being considered are chosen in such a way as to render this investigation applicable to an analysis of the cooling of a neutron star.     

Properties of Neutron Stars Rotating at Kepler Frequency with Uniform Strong Magnetic Field

A uniform strong magnetic field is considered in calculating the properties of neutron star rotating at the Kepler frequency. The results show that the effect of the magnetic field on the properties of neutron star is evident, and the properties of the neutron stars rotating at the Kepler frequency can be used as a criterion to the equations of states of the neutron star matters.     

中子星物质中的K介子凝聚与三体核力效应

利用Brueckner-Hartree-Fock方法，计算了β稳定中子星物质的状态方程以及三体核力的影响，特别是研究了三体核力对中子星物质中K介子凝聚的影响. 结果表明三体核力对β稳定中子星物质中出现K介子凝聚的临界密度以及中子星物质中各种粒子所占的比例均有重要影响. 三体核力的主要作用是降低了中子星物质中出现K介子凝聚的临界密度并使K凝聚相中的核物质更加接近于对称核物质.