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Register a new userThe hottest superfluid and superconductor in the Universe: Discovery and nuclear physics implications
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We present recent work on using astronomical observations of neutron stars to reveal unique insights into nuclear matter that cannot be obtained from laboratories on Earth. First, we discuss our measurement of the rapid cooling of the youngest neutron star in the Galaxy; this provides the first direct evidence for superfluidity and superconductivity in the supra-nuclear core of neutron stars. We show that observations of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on neutron stars can be used to constrain properties of neutron superfluidity and neutrino emission. We describe the implications of rapid neutron star rotation rates on aspects of nuclear and superfluid physics. Finally, we show that entrainment coupling between the neutron superfluid and the nuclear lattice leads to a less mobile crust superfluid; this result puts into question the conventional picture of pulsar glitches as being solely due to the crust superfluid and suggests that the core superfluid also participates.
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Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that are renowned for their timing precision, although glitches can interrupt the regular timing behavior when these stars are young. Glitches are thought to be caused by interactions between normal and superfluid matter in the star. We update our recent work on a new technique using pulsar glitch data to constrain superfluid and nuclear equation of state models, demonstrating how current and future astronomy telescopes can probe fundamental physics such as superfluidity near nuclear saturation and matter at supranuclear densities. Unlike traditional methods of measuring a stars mass by its gravitational effect on another object, our technique relies on nuclear physics knowledge and therefore allows measurement of the mass of pulsars which are in isolation.
Observations of massive ($M approx 2.0~M_odot$) neutron stars (NSs), PSRs J1614-2230 and J0348+0432, rule out most of the models of nucleon-hyperon matter employed in NS simulations. Here we construct three possible models of nucleon-hyperon matter consistent with the existence of $2~M_odot$ pulsars as well as with semi-empirical nuclear matter parameters at saturation, and semi-empirical hypernuclear data. Our aim is to calculate for these models all the parameters necessary for modelling dynamics of hyperon stars (such as equation of state, adiabatic indices, thermodynamic derivatives, relativistic entrainment matrix, etc.), making them available for a potential user. To this aim a general non-linear hadronic Lagrangian involving $sigmaomegarhophisigma^ast$ meson fields, as well as quartic terms in vector-meson fields, is considered. A universal scheme for calculation of the $ell=0,1$ Landau Fermi-liquid parameters and relativistic entrainment matrix is formulated in the mean-field approximation. Use of this scheme allow us to obtain numerical tables with the equation of state, Landau quasiparticle effective masses, adiabatic indices, the $ell=0,1$ Landau Fermi-liquid parameters, and the relativistic entrainment matrix for the selected models of nucleon-hyperon matter. These data are available on-line and suitable for numerical implementation in computer codes modelling various dynamical processes in NSs, in particular, oscillations of superfluid NSs and their cooling.
The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A contains the youngest known neutron star which is also the first one for which real time cooling has ever been observed. In order to explain the rapid cooling of this neutron star, we first present the fundamental properties of neutron stars that control their thermal evolution with emphasis on the neutrino emission processes and neutron/proton superfluidity/superconductivity. Equipped with these results, we present a scenario in which the observed cooling of the neutron star in Cassiopeia A is interpreted as being due to the recent onset of neutron superfluidity in the core of the star. The manner in which the earlier occurrence of proton superconductivity determines the observed rapidity of this neutron stars cooling is highlighted. This is the first direct evidence that superfluidity and superconductivity occur at supranuclear densities within neutron stars.
A recent composite-dark-matter scenario assumes that the dominant fraction of dark matter consists of O-helium (OHe) dark atoms, in which a lepton-like doubly charged particle O is bound with a primordial helium nucleus. It liberates the physics of dark matter from unknown features of new physics, but it demands a deep understanding of the details of known nuclear and atomic physics, which are still unclear. Here, we consider in detail the physics of the binding of OHe to various nuclei of interest for direct dark matter searches. We show that standard quantum mechanics leads to bound states in the keV region, but does not seem to provide a simple mechanism that stabilizes them. The crucial role of a barrier in the OHe-nucleus potential is confirmed for such a stabilization.
This report is an outcome of the workshop AI for Nuclear Physics held at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility on March 4-6, 2020. The workshop brought together 184 scientists to explore opportunities for Nuclear Physics in the area of Artificial Intelligence. The workshop consisted of plenary talks, as well as six working groups. The report includes the workshop deliberations and additional contributions to describe prospects for using AI across Nuclear Physics research.
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