No Arabic abstract
We compare three different statistical models for the equation of state (EOS) of stellar matter at subnuclear densities and temperatures (0.5-10 MeV) expected to occur during the collapse of massive stars and supernova explosions. The models introduce the distributions of various nuclear species in nuclear statistical equilibrium, but use somewhat different nuclear physics inputs. It is demonstrated that the basic thermodynamical quantities of stellar matter under these conditions are similar, except in the region of high densities and low temperatures. We demonstrate that mass and isotopic distributions have considerable differences related to the different assumptions of the models on properties of nuclei at these stellar conditions. Overall, the three models give similar trends, but the details reflect the uncertainties related to the modeling of medium effects, such as the temperature and density dependence of surface and bulk energies of heavy nuclei, and the nuclear shell structure effects. We discuss importance of new physics inputs for astrophysical calculations from experimental data obtained in intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions, in particular, the similarities of the conditions reached during supernova explosions and multifragmentation reactions.
This is an introduction to the tabulated data base of stellar matter properties calculated within the framework of the Statistical Model for Supernova Matter (SMSM). The tables present thermodynamical characteristics and nuclear abundances for 31 values of baryon density (10$^{-8}<rho/rho_0<$0.32, $rho_0$=0.15 fm$^{-3}$ is the normal nuclear matter density), 35 values of temperature ($0.2<T<25$ MeV) and 28 values of electron-to-baryon ratio ($0.02<Y_e<0.56$). The properties of stellar matter in $beta$-equilibrium are also considered. The main ingredients of the SMSM are briefly outlined, and the data structure and content of the tables are explained.
We calculate the energy per particle of symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter using the microscopic many-body Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) approach and employing the Argonne V18 (AV18) nucleon-nucleon (NN) potential supplemented with two different three-nucleon force models recently constructed to reproduce the binding energy of $^3$H, $^3$He and $^4$He nuclei as well as the neutron-deuteron doublet scattering length. We find that none of these new three-nucleon force models is able to reproduce simultaneously the empirical saturation point of symmetric nuclear matter and the properties of three- and four-nucleon systems.
Extensive calculations of properties of supernova matter are presented, using the extended Nuclear Statistical Equilibrium model of PRC92 055803 (2015) based on a statistical distribution of Wigner-Seitz cells modeled using realistic nuclear mass and level density tables, complemented with a non-relativistic Skyrme functional for unbound particles and beyond drip-line nuclei. Both thermodynamic quantities and matter composition are examined as a function of baryonic density, temperature, and proton fraction, within a large domain adapted for applications in supernova simulations. The results are also provided in the form of a table, with grid mesh and format compatible with the CompOSE platform [http://compose.obspm.fr/] for direct use in supernova simulations. Detailed comparisons are also presented with other existing databases, all based on relativistic mean-field functionals, and the differences between the different models are outlined. We show that the strongest impact on the predictions is due to the different hypotheses used to define the cluster functional and its modifications due to the presence of a nuclear medium.
We investigate the role of pressure in a class of generalised Skyrme models. We introduce pressure as the trace of the spatial part of the energy-momentum tensor and show that it obeys the usual thermodynamical relation. Then, we compute analytically the mean-field equation of state in the high and medium pressure regimes by applying topological bounds on compact domains. The equation of state is further investigated numerically for the charge one skyrmions. We identify which term in a generalised Skyrme model is responsible for which part in the equation of state. Further, we compare our findings with the corresponding results in the Walecka model.
The half-skyrmions that appear in dense baryonic matter when skyrmions are put on crystals modify drastically hadron properties in dense medium and affect strongly the nuclear tensor forces, thereby influencing the equation of state (EoS) of dense nuclear and asymmetric nuclear matter. The matter comprised of half skyrmions has vanishing quark condensate but non-vanishing pion decay constant and could be interpreted as a hadronic dual of strong-coupled quark matter. We infer from this observation combined with certain predictions of hidden local symmetry in low-energy hadronic interactionsa a set of new scaling laws -- called new-BR -- for the parameters in nuclear effective field theory controlled by renormalization-group flow. They are subjected to the EoS of symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter, and are then applied to nuclear symmetry energies and properties of compact stars. The changeover from the skyrmion matter to a half-skyrmion matter that takes place after the cross-over density $n_{1/2}$ provides a simple and natural field theoretic explanation for the change of the EoS from soft to stiff at a density above that of nuclear matter required for compact stars as massive as $sim 2.4M_odot$. Cross-over density in the range $1.5n_0 lsim n_{1/2} lsim 2.0 n_0$ has been employed, and the possible skyrmion half-skyrmion coexistence {or cross-over} near $n_{1/2}$ is discussed. The novel structure of {the tensor forces and} the EoS obtained with the new-BR scaling is relevant for neutron-rich nuclei and compact star matter and could be studied in RIB (rare isotope beam) machines.