No Arabic abstract
In this work we present a detailed explanation of the construction of an appropriate equation of state (EoS) for nuclear astrophysics. We use a relativistic model in order to obtain an EoS for neutrally charged matter that extends from very low to high densities, from zero temperature to 100 MeV with proton fractions ranging from 0 (no protons) to 0.6 (asymmetric matter with proton excess). For the achievement of complete convergence, the Sommerfeld approximation is used at low temperatures and the Boltzman distribution for relativistic particles is used in the calculation of the electron properties at very low densities. Photons are also incorporated as blackbody radiation. An extension of this EoS is also presented with the inclusion of strangeness by taking into account the sigma minus hyperon only. Strangeness fractions range from 0.02 to 0.3.
We construct the equation of state (EOS) of dense matter covering a wide range of temperature, proton fraction, and density for the use of core-collapse supernova simulations. The study is based on the relativistic mean-field (RMF) theory, which can provide an excellent description of nuclear matter and finite nuclei. The Thomas--Fermi approximation in combination with assumed nucleon distribution functions and a free energy minimization is adopted to describe the non-uniform matter, which is composed of a lattice of heavy nuclei. We treat the uniform matter and non-uniform matter consistently using the same RMF theory. We present two sets of EOS tables, namely EOS2 and EOS3. EOS2 is an update of our earlier work published in 1998 (EOS1), where only the nucleon degree of freedom is taken into account. EOS3 includes additional contributions from $Lambda$ hyperons. The effect of $Lambda$ hyperons on the EOS is negligible in the low-temperature and low-density region, whereas it tends to soften the EOS at high density. In comparison with EOS1, EOS2 and EOS3 have an improved design of ranges and grids, which covers the temperature range $T=0.1$--$10^{2.6}$ MeV with the logarithmic grid spacing $Delta log_{10}(T/rm{[MeV]})=0.04$ (92 points including T=0), the proton fraction range $Y_p=0$--0.65 with the linear grid spacing $Delta Y_p = 0.01$ (66 points), and the density range $rho_B=10^{5.1}$--$10^{16},rm{g,cm^{-3}}$ with the logarithmic grid spacing $Delta log_{10}(rho_B/rm{[g,cm^{-3}]}) = 0.1$ (110 points).
First results from a fully self-consistent, temperature-dependent equation of state that spans the whole density range of neutron stars and supernova cores are presented. The equation of state (EoS) is calculated using a mean-field Hartree-Fock method in three dimensions (3D). The nuclear interaction is represented by the phenomenological Skyrme model in this work, but the EoS can be obtained in our framework for any suitable form of the nucleon-nucleon effective interaction. The scheme we employ naturally allows effects such as (i) neutron drip, which results in an external neutron gas, (ii) the variety of exotic nuclear shapes expected for extremely neutron heavy nuclei, and (iii) the subsequent dissolution of these nuclei into nuclear matter. In this way, the equation of state is calculated across phase transitions without recourse to interpolation techniques between density regimes described by different physical models. EoS tables are calculated in the wide range of densities, temperature and proton/neutron ratios on the ORNL NCCS XT3, using up to 2000 processors simultaneously.
We study the explosion mechanism of collapse-driven supernovae by numerical simulations with a new nuclear EOS based on unstable nuclei. We report new results of simulations of general relativistic hydrodynamics together with the Boltzmann neutrino-transport in spherical symmetry. We adopt the new data set of relativistic EOS and the conventional set of EOS (Lattimer-Swesty EOS) to examine the influence on dynamics of core-collapse, bounce and shock propagation. We follow the behavior of stalled shock more than 500 ms after the bounce and compare the evolutions of supernova core.
Neutrinos emitted during the collapse, bounce and subsequent explosion provide information about supernova dynamics. The neutrino spectra are determined by weak interactions with nuclei and nucleons in the inner regions of the star, and thus the neutrino spectra are determined by the composition of matter. The composition of stellar matter at temperature ranging from $T=1-3$ MeV and densities ranging from $10^{-5}$ to 0.1 times the saturation density is explored. We examine the single-nucleus approximation commonly used in describing dense matter in supernova simulations and show that, while the approximation is accurate for predicting the energy and pressure at most densities, it fails to predict the composition accurately. We find that as the temperature and density increase, the single nucleus approximation systematically overpredicts the mass number of nuclei that are actually present and underestimates the contribution from lighter nuclei which are present in significant amounts.
We study the influence of density-dependent symmetry energy at high densities in simulations of core-collapse supernovae, black hole formation and proto-neutron star cooling by extending the relativistic mean field (RMF) theory used for the Shen EOS table. We adopt the extended RMF theory to examine the density dependence of the symmetry energy with a small value of the slope parameter $L$, while the original properties of the symmetric nuclear matter are unchanged. In order to assess matter effects at high densities, we perform numerical simulations of gravitational collapse of massive stars adopting the EOS table at high densities beyond $10^{14}$ g/cm$^3$ with the small $L$ value, which is in accord with the experimental and observational constraints, and compare them with the results obtained by using the Shen EOS. Numerical results for 11.2M$_{odot}$ and 15M$_{odot}$ stars exhibit minor effects around the core bounce and in the following evolution for 200 ms. Numerical results for 40M$_{odot}$ and 50M$_{odot}$ stars reveal a shorter duration toward the black hole formation with a smaller maximum mass for the small $L$ case. Numerical simulations of proto-neutron star cooling over 10 s through neutrino emissions demonstrate increasing effects of the symmetry energy at high densities. Neutrino cooling drastically proceeds in a relatively long timescale with high luminosities and average energies with the small symmetry energy. Evolution toward the cold neutron star is affected because of the different behavior of neutron-rich matter while supernova dynamics around core bounce remains similar in less neutron-rich environments.