Relativistic finite baryon size effect and the mass limit for neutron stars

We revise our previous calculation of the finite baryon size effect on the mass limit for neutron stars by making the formulation be relativistic. The result is still consistent with the observational data.Communicated by: A. Schäfer     

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.     

Calculations of mass and moment of inertia for neutron stars

Masses and moments of inertia for slowly-rotating neutron stars are calculated from the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations and various equations of state for neutron-star matter. We have also obtained pressure and density as a function of the distance from the centre of the star. Generally, two different equations of state are applied for particle densities n > 0.47 fm^?3 and n < 0.47 fm^?3.The maximum mass is, in our calculations for all equations of state except for the unrealistic non-relativistic ideal Fermi gas, given by 1.50 M_⊙ < M < 1.82 M_⊙, which agrees very well with “experimental results”. Corresponding results for the maximum moment of inertia are 9.5 × 10⁴⁴ g · cm² < I < 1.58 × 10⁴⁵ g · cm², which also seem to agree very well with “experimental results”. The radius of the star corresponding to maximum mass and maximum moment of inertia is given by 8.2 km < R < 10.0 km, but a smaller central density ρ_c will give a larger radius.     

Relation between gravitational mass and baryonic mass for non-rotating and rapidly rotating neutron stars

With a selected sample of neutron star(NS)equations of state(EOSs)that are consistent with the current observations and have a range of maximum masses,we investigate the relations between NS gravitational mass Mg and baryonic mass and the relations between the maximum NS mass supported through uniform rotation(Mmax)and that of nonrotating NSs(Mtov).We find that for an EOS-independent quadratic,universal transformation formula(Mb=Mg+A×M^2/g),the best-fit A value is 0.080 for non-rotating NSs,0.064 for maximally rotating NSs,and 0.073 when NSs with arbitrary rotation are considered.The residual error of the transformation is?0.1M⊙ for non-spin or maximum-spin,but is as large as?0.2M⊙ for all spins.For different EOSs,we find that the parameter A for non-rotating NSs is proportional to R^-1/1.4(where R1.4 is NS radius for 1.4M⊙ in units of km).For a particular EOS,if one adopts the best-fit parameters for different spin periods,the residual error of the transformation is smaller,which is of the order of O.O1M⊙ for the quadratic form and less than O.O1M⊙ for the cubic form(Mb=Mg+A1×M^2/g+A2×M^3/g).We also find a very tight and general correlation between the normalized mass gain due to spin △m≡(Mmax-MTOV)MTOV and the spin period normalized to the Keplerian period P,i.e.,log10 △m=(-2.74±0.05)log10 P+log10(0.20±0.01),which is independent of EOS models.These empirical relations are helpful to study NS-NS mergers with a long-lived NS merger product using multi-messenger data.The application of our results to GW170817 is discussed.     

Bounds on the mass and moment of inertia of non-rotating neutron stars

This article reviews the problem of placing bounds on the mass and moment of inertia of non-rotating neutron stars assuming that the properties of the constituent matter are known below a fiducial density ?₀ while restricted only by minimal general assumptions above this density. We chiefly consider bounds on perfect fluid stars in Einstein's general relativity for which the energy density, ?, is positive and for which the matter is microscopically stable (p ? 0, dp/d? ? 0). The effect of the additional restriction (ditpdg)suiffrsol121 1015 0823 V on the bounds on the mass is also discussed as well as work indicating the effects of rotation, non-perfect fluid matter, and other theories of gravity.     

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.     

Key factor for determining relation between radius and tidal deformability of neutron stars: Slope of symmetry energy

The constraints on tidal deformability Λ of neutron stars were first extracted from GW170817 by LIGO and Virgo Collaborations.However,the relationship between the radius R and tidal deformability Λ is still under debate.Using an isospin-dependent parameterized equation of state(EOS),we study the relation between R andΛand its dependence on parameters of symmetry energy E_(sym) and EOS of symmetric nuclear matter E_0 when the mass is fixed at 1.4 M_⊙,1.0 M_⊙,and 1.8 M_⊙.We find that,although the changes of high order parameters of E_(sym) and E _0 can shift individual values of R_(1.4) and Λ_(1.4),the R_(1.4)～Λ_(1.4) relation remains approximately at the same fitted curve.The slope L of the symmetry energy plays the dominant role in determining the R_(1.4)～Λ_(1.4) relation.By investigating the mass dependence of the R～Λ relation,we find that the well fitted R～Λ relation for 1.4 M_⊙ is broken for massive neutron stars.     

Accreting neutron stars as probes of dense matter physics

There are over 100 accreting neutron stars in our galaxy, in which matter (typically H/He) is tidally transferred from a secondary companion to the neutron star. Accretion of this matter perturbs the thermal structure of the interior away from that of an isolated cooling neutron star. In this paper. we review how this accretion induces reactions in the crust of the neutron star that keep the interior hot. If the accretion is intermittent, then the heated surface layers are directly observable when accretion stops. This heating also affects the unstable ignition of light elements in the neutron star envelope. Observations of the neutron star cooling following an accretion outburst can in principle constrain the thermal properties of the crust and core.     

Equation of state of nuclear matter and neutron stars in a hadron mass scaling frame

The equation of state for nuclear matter at finite temperature and the properties of neutron stars are studied starting from an effective Lagrangian in the framework of the relativistic mean field theory. We find that the empirical properties of nuclear matter can be reproduced if the medium effects are mainly described in terms of the Brown-Rho mass scaling on top of the Bonn potential used as the underlying bare nucleon-nucleon interaction. In particular a correct symmetry energy at saturation density is obtained. The extrapolation of the equation of state to neutron matter and some predictions for the neutron-star masses are finally discussed and compared with other nucleonic many-body approaches.PACS: 21.65. + f Nuclear matter - 21.30.Fe Forces in hadronic systems and effective interactions - 97.60.Jd Neutron stars     

The Zoo of neutron stars

In these lecture notes, I briefly discuss the present day situation and new discoveries in astrophysics of neutron stars focusing on isolated objects. The latter include soft gamma repeaters, anomalous x-ray pulsars, central compact objects in supernova remnants, the Magnificent Seven, and rotating radio transients. In the last part of the paper, I describe available tests of cooling curves of neutron stars and discuss different additional constraints that can help to confront theoretical calculations of cooling with observational data. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Internal structure of neutron stars

The equation of state and the structure and composition of neutron star matter are investigated in the density region 3.1 × 10¹¹−2 × 10¹⁵g/cm³. Below the density 3.1 × 10¹¹ g/cm³ the matter is a solid consisting of neutron-rich nuclei in a degenerate electron gas. At 3.1 × 10¹¹g/cm³ neutrons start to drip out of the nuclei; as the density increases, the lattice spacing continuously decreases while the geometrical size of the nuclei only slightly increases, until at about 15 × 10¹³g/cm³ the nuclei disappear by coalescing into a homogeneous liquid in an almost continuous phase transition. The maximum proton number per nucleus is 40, which is obtained between the densities 1−2.5 × 10¹³g/cm³; after that the proton number decreases until at the solid-to-liquid phase boundary it is about 20. In the liquid-core region, muons appear at the density 20.5 × 10¹³g/cm³.     

Pion mass effects on axion emission from neutron stars through NN bremsstrahlung processes

The rates of axion emission by nucleon–nucleon bremsstrahlung are calculated with the inclusion of the full momentum contribution from a nuclear one pion exchange (OPE) potential. The contributions of the neutron–neutron (nn), proton–proton ( pp) and neutron–proton (np) processes in both the non-degenerate and degenerate limits are explicitly given. We find that the finite-momentum corrections to the emissivities are quantitatively significant for the non-degenerate regime and temperature-dependent, and should affect the existing axion mass bounds. The trend of these nuclear effects is to diminish the emissivities.     

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.     

Searching for gravitational waves from rotating neutron stars

Rotating neutron stars are one of the important sources of gravitational waves (GW) for the ground based as well as space based detectors. Since the waves are emitted continuously, the source is termed as a continuous gravitational wave (CGW) source. The expected weakness of the signal requires long integration times (∼year). The data analysis problem involves tracking the phase coherently over such large integration times, which makes it the most computationally intensive problem among all GW sources envisaged. In this article, the general problem of data analysis is discussed, and more so, in the context of searching for CGW sources orbiting another companion object. The problem is important because there are several pulsars, which could be deemed to be CGW sources orbiting another companion star. Differential geometric techniques for data analysis are described and used to obtain computational costs. These results are applied to known systems to assess whether such systems are detectable with current (or near future) computing resources.     

Stability of precessing superfluid neutron stars

We discuss a new superfluid instability occurring in the interior of mature neutron stars with implications for free precession. This instability is similar to the instability which is responsible for the formation of turbulence in superfluid helium. We demonstrate that the instability is unlikely to affect slowly precessing systems with weak superfluid coupling. In contrast, fast precession in systems with strong coupling appears to be generically unstable. This raises serious questions about our understanding of neutron star precession and complicates attempts to constrain neutron star interiors using such observations.