Equilibrium of a Degenerate Gas of Nucleons and Electrons in a Strong Magnetic Field

A model of a degenerate ideal gas of nucleons and electrons in a superstrong magnetic field is used to describe the state of matter in the central region of a strongly magnetized neutron star. The influence of a constant uniform superstrong magnetic field on the equilibrium conditions and the equation of state for the degenerate gas of neutrons, protons, and electrons is investigated in the framework of this model. The contribution determined by the interaction of the anomalous magnetic moments of the fermions with the magnetic field is taken into account. The influence of the superstrong magnetic field on the process of gravitational collapse of a magnetized neutron star is discussed under the assumption that the central region of the star consists mostly of degenerate neutrons. We show that if the densities of electrons, protons, and neutrons are relatively low depending on the field strength, the fermion gases in a superstrong uniform magnetic field become totally polarized with respect to the spin. We discuss the possibility of spontaneous magnetization occurring in a system of degenerate neutrons where the exchange interaction effects are taken into account.