Quark deconfinement in neutron star cores

Whether or not the deconfined quark phase exists in neutron star cores is an open question. We use two realistic effective quark models, the three-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and the modified quark-meson coupling model, to describe the neutron star matter. We show that the modified quark-meson coupling model, which is fixed by reproducing the saturation properties of nuclear matter, can be consistent with the experimental constraints from nuclear collisions. After constructing possible hybrid equations of state (EOSes) with an unpaired or color superconducting quark phase with the assumption of the sharp hadron-quark phase transition, we discuss the observational constraints from neutron stars on the EOSes. It is found that the neutron star with pure quark matter core is unstable and the hadronic phase with hyperons is denied, while hybrid EOSes with a two-flavor color superconducting phase or unpaired quark matter phase are both allowed by the tight and most reliable constraints from two stars Ter 5 I and EXO 0748-676. And the hybrid EOS with an unpaired quark matter phase is allowed even compared with the tightest constraint from the most massive pulsar star PSR J0751+1807.     

A realistic model of superfluidity in the neutron star inner crust

A semi-microscopic self-consistent quantum approach developed recently to describe the inner-crust structure of neutron stars within the Wigner-Seitz (WS) method with the explicit inclusion of neutron and proton pairing correlations is further developed. In this approach, the generalized energy functional is used which contains the anomalous term describing the pairing. It is constructed by matching the realistic phenomenological functional by Fayans et al. for describing the nuclear-type cluster in the center of the WS cell with the one calculated microscopically for neutron matter. Previously, the anomalous part of the latter was calculated within the BCS approximation. In this work corrections to the BCS theory which are known from the many-body theory of pairing in neutron matter are included into the energy functional in an approximate way. These modifications have a sizable influence on the equilibrium configuration of the inner crust, i.e. on the proton charge Z and the radius R _c of the WS cell. The effects are quite significant in the region where the neutron pairing gap is larger.     

Phase transition to color-flavor-locked matter and condensation of Goldstone bosons in neutron star matter

Deconfinement phase transition and condensation of Goldstone bosons in neutron star matter are investigated in a chiral hadronic model (also referred as to the FST model) for the hadronic phase (HP) and in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) quark model for the deconfined quark phase. It is shown that the hadronic-CFL mixed phase (MP) exists in the center of neutron stars with a small bag constant, while the CFL quark matter cannot appear in neutron stars when a large bag constant is taken. Color superconductivity softens the equation of state (EOS) and decreases the maximum mass of neutron stars compared with the unpaired quark matter. The K⁰ condensation in the CFL phase has no remarkable contribution to the EOS and properties of neutron star matter. The EOS and the properties of neutron star matter are sensitive to the bag constant B, the strange quark mass m_s and the color superconducting gap Δ. Increasing B and m_s or decreasing Δ can stiffen the EOS which results in the larger maximum masses of neutron stars.     

Chiral-invariant phase space model

The masses of the SU(3)×SU(6) hadrons are calculated in the chiral-invariant phase space (CHIPS) model as a sum of the mean energies of the quarks at a constant temperature T _c with the color-magnetic splitting and the color-electric shift. The masses of hadrons are parametrized by four constants: T _c, m_s, E _CE and A _CM. With the same number of parameters the CHIPS model fits the masses of hadrons better than the classic bag model. The small mass of the d-quark ( m _d = 2.7MeV) is used to prove that the isotopic shifts of hadrons can be explained by the mass difference between the d- and u-quarks. The dibaryon mass is estimated in CHIPS to be 200MeV higher than in the bag model. The prediction for the mass of the α^* cluster is about the same in both models. It is close to 4 ^. m _Δ. Received: 12 December 2001 / Accepted: 23 May 2002     

Nuclear matter properties and relativistic mean-field theory

Nuclear matter properties are calculated in the relativistic mean-field theory by using a number of different parameter sets. The result shows that the volume energy a₁ and the symmetry energy J are around the acceptable values 16MeV and 30MeV, respectively; the incompressibility K₀ is unacceptably high in the linear model, but assumes reasonable value if nonlinear terms are included; the density symmetry L is around 100MeV for most parameter sets, and the symmetry incompressibility K _s has positive sign which is opposite to expectations based on the nonrelativistic model. In almost all parameter sets there exists a critical point (,), where the minimum and the maximum of the equation of state are coincident and the incompressibility equals zero, falling into ranges 0.014fm^-3 < < 0.039fm^-3 and 0.74 < ≤0.95; for a few parameter sets there is no critical point and the pure neutron matter is predicted to be bound. The maximum mass M _NS of neutron stars is predicted in the range 2.45M ?M _NS? 3.26M , the corresponding neutron star radius R _NS is in the range 12.2km ?R _NS? 15.1km. Received: 5 May 2000 / Accepted: 28 November 2000     

Propagation of mesons in asymmetric nuclear matter in a density-dependent coupling model

We study the propagation of the light mesons σ,ω,ρ, and a₀(980) in dense hadronic matter in an extended derivative scalar coupling model. Within the scheme proposed it is possible to unambiguously define effective density-dependent couplings at the Lagrangian level. We first apply the model to study asymmetric nuclear matter with fixed isospin asymmetry, and then we pay particular attention to hypermatter in β-equilibrium. The equation of state and the potential contribution to the symmetry coefficient arising from the mean-field approximation are investigated. Received: 16 October 2001 / Accepted: 10 January 2002     

Parity violation,the neutron radius of lead,and neutron stars

The neutron radius of a heavy nucleus is a fundamental nuclear-structure observable that remains elusive. Progress in this arena has been limited by the exclusive use of hadronic probes that are hindered by large and controversial uncertainties in the reaction mechanism. The parity radius experiment at the Jefferson Laboratory offers an attractive electro-weak alternative to the hadronic program and promises to measure the neutron radius of ²⁰⁸Pb accurately and model independently via parity-violating electron scattering. In this contribution we examine the far-reaching implications that such a determination will have in areas as diverse as nuclear structure, atomic parity violation, and astrophysics.     

Hadron spectrum in a two-colour baryon-rich medium

The hadron spectrum of SU(2)$\mathrm{SU}(2)$ lattice gauge theory with two flavours of Wilson quark is studied on an ⁸³×16$8^3\times 16$ lattice using all-to-all propagators, with particular emphasis on the dependence on quark chemical potential μ. As μ is increased from zero the diquark states with non-zero baryon number B   respond as expected, while states with B=0$B=0$ remain unaffected, until the onset of non-zero baryon density at μ=mπ/2$\mu =m_{\pi }/2$. Post onset the pi-meson mass increases in accordance with chiral perturbation theory while the rho becomes lighter. In the diquark sector a Goldstone state associated with a superfluid ground state can be identified. A further consequence of superfluidity is an approximate degeneracy between mesons and baryons with the same spacetime and isospin quantum numbers. Finally we find tentative evidence for the binding of states with kaon quantum numbers within the baryonic medium.     

Nuclear symmetry energy effects in finite nuclei and neutron star

Within a relativistic mean-field model with nonlinear isoscalar–isovector coupling, we explore the possibility of constraining the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy from a systematic study of the neutron skin thickness of finite nuclei and neutron star properties. We find the present skin data supports a rather stiff symmetry energy at subsaturation densities that corresponds to a soft symmetry energy at supranormal densities. Correlation between the skin of ²⁰⁸Pb and the neutron star masses and radii with kaon condensation has been studied. We find that ²⁰⁸Pb skin estimate suggest star radii that reveals considerable model dependence. Thus precise measurements of neutron star radii in conjunction with skin thickness of heavy nuclei could provide significant constraint on the density dependence of symmetry energy.     

QCD Coulomb gauge approach to exotic hadrons

The Coulomb gauge Hamiltonian model is used to calculate masses for selected J^PC states consisting of exotic combinations of quarks and gluons: ggg glueballs (oddballs), qˉg hybrid mesons and qˉqˉ tetraquark systems. An odderon Regge trajectory is computed for the J^- glueballs with intercept much smaller than the pomeron, explaining its nonobservation. The lowest 1^-+ hybrid-meson mass is found to be just above 2.2GeV while the lightest tetraquark state mass with these exotic quantum numbers is predicted around 1.4GeV consistent with the observed π(1400).     

Neutrino-nucleon scattering rate in proto-neutron star matter

We present a calculation of the neutrino-nucleon scattering cross-section which takes into account the nuclear correlations in the relativistic random phase approximation (RPA). Our approach is based on a quantum-hadrodynamics model with exchange of σ, ω, π, ρ and δ mesons. In view of applications to neutrino transport in the final stages of supernova explosion and proto-neutron star cooling, we study the evolution of the neutrino mean free path as a function of density, proton-neutron asymmetry and temperature. Special attention was paid to the issues of renormalization of the Dirac sea, residual interactions in the tensor channel, coupling to the delta-meson and meson mixing. In contrast with the results of other authors, we find that the neutral-current process is not sensitive to the strength g' of the residual contact interaction. As a consequence, it is found that RPA corrections with respect to the mean-field approximation amount to only 10% to 15% at high density. Received: 27 June 2001 / Accepted: 14 January 2002     

Vector and axial-vector mesons in Quasilocal Quark Models

We consider the SU(2) Quasilocal Quark Model of the NJL-type including vector and axial-vector four-fermion interaction vertices with derivatives. The mass spectrum and a set of model-independent relations for the ground and first-excited states are calculated. The chiral-symmetry restoration sum rules in these channels are imposed for matching to QCD at intermediate energies in order to get a number of constraints on parameters of the SU(2) QQM. Received: 15 January 2003 / Accepted: 10 February 2003 / Published online: 29 April 2003     

Neutron stars with isovector scalar correlations

Neutron stars with the isovector scalar δ-field are studied in the framework of the relativistic mean-field (RMF) approach in a pure-nucleon-plus-lepton scheme. The δ-field leads to a larger repulsion in dense neutron-rich matter and to a definite splitting of proton and neutron effective masses. Both features are influencing the stability conditions of the neutron stars. Two parametrizations for the effective nonlinear Lagrangian density are used to calculate the nuclear equation of state (EOS) and the neutron star properties, and compared to correlated Dirac-Brueckner results. We conclude that in order to reproduce reasonable nuclear structure and neutron star properties within a RMF approach, a density dependence of the coupling constants is required.     

Necessity of extra repulsion in hypernuclear systems: Suggestion from neutron stars

Neutron star models with hyperon-mixed core are studied by a realistic approach to use the YN and the YY interactions consistent with hypernuclear data. From the compatibility of the theoretical maximum mass with the observed neutron star mass 1.44 M _⊙ of PSR1913+16, the necessity of some extra repulsion in hypernuclear systems, e.g., a repulsion from three-body force, is stressed. It is noted that the increase of baryon degrees of freedom to avoid the short-range repulsion effectively is an essential mechanism causing the Y-mixed phase. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Neutral color-spin-locking phase in neutron stars

We present results for the spin-1 color-spin-locking (CSL) phase using a NJL-type model in two-flavor quark matter for compact stars applications. The CSL condensate is flavor symmetric and therefore charge and color neutrality can easily be satisfied. We find small energy gaps ≃ 1MeV, which make the CSL matter composition and the EoS not very different from the normal quark matter phase. We keep finite quark masses in our calculations and obtain no gapless modes that could have strong consequences in the late cooling of neutron stars. Finally, we show that the region of the phase diagram relevant for neutron star cores, when asymmetric flavor pairing is suppressed, could be covered by the CSL phase.     

Doubly heavy-quark baryon spectroscopy and semileptonic decay

Working in the framework of a nonrelativistic quark model we evaluate the spectra and semileptonic decay widths for the ground state of doubly heavy Ξ and Ω baryons. We solve the three-body problem using a variational ansatz made possible by the constraints imposed by heavy-quark spin symmetry. In order to check the dependence of our results on the inter-quark interaction, we have used five different quark-quark potentials which include Coulomb and hyperfine terms coming from one-gluon exchange, plus a confining term. Our results for the spectra are in good agreement with a previous calculation done using a Faddeev approach. For the semileptonic decay our results for the total decay widths are in good agreement with the ones obtained within a relativistic quark model in the quark-diquark approximation.     

Radial excitations of heavy-light mesons

The recent discovery of D_s states suggests the existence of radial excitations. Our semirelativistic quark potential model succeeds in reproducing these states within one to two percent of accuracy compared with the experiments, D _s0(2860) and D _s ^*(2715), which are identified as 0⁺ and 1^- radial excitations (n = 2). We also present calculations of radial excitations for B/B _s heavy mesons. The relation between our formulation and the modified Goldberger-Treiman relation is also described.     

The symmetry energy in nuclei and in nuclear matter

We discuss to what extent information on ground-state properties of finite nuclei (energies and radii) can be used to obtain constraints on the symmetry energy in nuclear matter and its dependence on the density. The starting point is a generalized Weizs?cker formula for ground-state energies. In particular, effects from the Wigner energy and shell structure on the symmetry energy are investigated. Strong correlations in the parameter space prevent a clear isolation of the surface contribution. Use of neutron skin information improves the situation. The result of the analysis appears consistent with a rather soft density dependence of the symmetry energy in nuclear matter.     

Neutrino scattering rates in the presence of hyperons from a Skyrme model in the RPA approximation

The contribution of -hyperons to neutrino scattering rates is calculated in the random phase approximation in a model where the interaction is described by a Skyrme potential. Finite temperature and neutrino trapping are taken into account in view of applications to the deleptonization stage of protoneutron star cooling. The hyperons can remove the problem of ferromagnetic instability common to (nearly) all Skyrme parametrizations of the nucleon-nucleon interaction. As a consequence, there is not any longer a pole at the transition in the neutrino-baryon cross-section. However there still remains an enhancement in this region. In the absence of ferromagnetism the mean free path in np matter is reduced compared to its value in np matter as a consequence of the presence of this additional degree of freedom. At high density the results are very sensitive to the choice of the - interaction.     

Static properties and semileptonic decays of doubly heavy baryons in a nonrelativistic quark model

We evaluate static properties and semileptonic decays for the ground state of doubly heavy Ξ, Ξ', Ξ ^* and Ω, Ω', Ω ^* baryons. Working in the framework of a nonrelativistic quark model, we solve the three-body problem by means of a variational ansatz made possible by heavy-quark spin symmetry constraints. To check the dependence of our results on the inter-quark interaction we use five different quark-quark potentials that include a confining term plus Coulomb and hyperfine terms coming from one-gluon exchange. Our results for static properties (masses, charge radii and magnetic moments) are, with a few exceptions for the magnetic moments, in good agreement with a previous Faddeev calculation. Our much simpler wave functions are used to evaluate semileptonic decays of doubly heavy Ξ, Ξ'(J = 1/2) and Ω, Ω'(J = 1/2) baryons. Our results for the decay widths are in good agreement with calculations done within a relativistic quark model in the quark-diquark approximation. An erratum to this article is available at .