We study the consistency of the description of charge distributions and radii of nuclear clusters obtained with semiclassical nuclear pasta models. These nuclei are expected to exist in the low density outer crust of neutron stars. Properties of the arising clusterized nucleon matter can be compared to realistic nuclear properties as experimentally extracted on earth. We focus on non iso-symmetric light clusters with nucleon number $8 \le A \le 30$ and use Monte Carlo many-body techniques. We simulate isotopic chains for a set of selected nuclei using a model Hamiltonian consisting of the usual kinetic term, hadronic nucleon nucleon (NN), Coulomb and an effective density dependent Pauli potential. It is shown that for neutron rich (deficient) clusters neutron (proton) skins develop. Different (matter, neutron, proton, electric charge) radii are computed for this set of non iso-symmetric nuclei. Nuclear binding energies are also analyzed in the isotopic chains.
In this Review we study the nuclear pastas as they are expected to be formed in neutron star cores. We start with a study of the pastas formed in nuclear matter (composed of protons and neutrons), we follow with the role of the electron gas on the formation of pastas, and we then investigate the pastas in neutron star matter (nuclear matter embedded in an electron gas).
Using the density functional theory (DFT) with the relativistic mean field (RMF) model, we study the non-uniform state of nuclear matter, ``nuclear pasta''. We self-consistently include the Coulomb interaction together with other interactions. It is found that the Coulomb screening effect is significant for each pasta structure but not for the bulk equation of state (EOS) of the nuclear pasta phase.
In neutron star crust, non-uniform structure of nuclear matter is expected, which is called the "pasta" structure. From the recent studies of giant flares in magnetars, these structures might be related to some observables and physical quantities of the neutron star crust. To investigate the above quantities, we numerically explore the pasta structures with a fully threedimensional geometry and study the properties of low-density nuclear matter, based on the relativistic mean-field model and the Thomas-Fermi approximation. We observe typical pasta structures for fixed proton number-fraction an…
The elastic properties of neutron star crusts are relevant for a variety of currently observable or near-future electromagnetic and gravitational wave phenomena. These phenomena may depend on the elastic properties of nuclear pasta found in the inner crust. We present large scale classical molecular dynamics simulations where we deform nuclear pasta. We simulate idealized samples of nuclear pasta and describe their breaking mechanism. We also deform nuclear pasta that is arranged into many domains, similar to what is known for the ions in neutron star crusts. Our results show that nuclear past…
In this work, we focus on different length scales within the dynamics of nucleons in conditions according to the neutron star crust, with a semiclassical molecular dynamics model, studying isospin symmetric matter at subsaturation densities. While varying the temperature, we find that a solid-liquid phase transition exists, that can be also characterized with a morphology transition. For higher temperatures, above this phase transition, we study the neutrino opacity, and find that in the liquid phase, the scattering of low momenta neutrinos remain high, even though the morphology of the struct…
Non-uniform structures of the nucleon matter are expected at subnuclear densities and above the nuclear density: they are called nuclear pastas and kaon pastas, respectively. We numerically study these phases by means of the density functional theory with relativistic mean-fields and the electric field; the electric field is properly taken into account. Our results demonstrate a particular role of the charge screening effects on these non-uniform structures.
In this work we present a calculation of the hamiltonian variables solving the molecular dynamics equations of motion for a system of nuclear matter relevant to the description of nuclear pasta. The temperature is kept fixed by using the Nosé-Hoover Thermostat and the interaction is modelled via a semiclassical potential depending on both positions and momenta.
The direct URCA process of rapid neutrino emission can occur in nonuniform nuclear pasta phases that are expected in the inner crust of neutron stars. Here, the periodic potential for a nucleon in nuclear pasta allows momentum conservation to be satisfied for direct URCA reactions. We improve on earlier work by modeling a rich variety of pasta phases (gnocchi, waffle, lasagna, and anti-spaghetti) with large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the neutrino luminosity due to direct URCA reactions in nuclear pasta can be 3 to 4 orders of magnitude larger than that from the modified…
Cold and isospin-symmetric nuclear matter at sub-saturation densities is known to form the so-called pasta structures, which, in turn, are known to undergo peculiar phase transitions. Here we investigate if such pastas and their phase changes survive in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter, and whether the symmetry energy of such pasta configurations is connected to the isospin content, the morphology of the pasta and to the phase transitions. We find that indeed pastas are formed in isospin asymmetric systems with proton to neutron ratios of x=0.3, 0.4 and 0.5, densities in the range of 0.05 1/f…
Pairing effects in non-uniform nuclear matter, surrounded by electrons, are studied in the protoneutron star early stage and in other conditions. The so-called nuclear pasta phases at subsaturation densities are solved in a Wigner-Seitz cell, within the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The solution of this problem is important for the understanding of the physics of a newly born neutron star after a supernova explosion. It is shown that the pasta phase is more stable than uniform nuclear matter on some conditions and the pairing force relevance is studied in the determination of these stable phases…
Nuclear density functional theory (DFT) is the tool of choice in describing properties of complex nuclei and intricate phases of bulk nucleonic matter. It is a microscopic approach based on an energy density functional representing the nuclear interaction. An attractive feature of nuclear DFT is that it can be applied to both finite nuclei and pasta phases appearing in the inner crust of neutron stars. While nuclear pasta clusters in a neutron star can be easily characterized through their density distributions, the level of clustering of nucleons in a nucleus can often be difficult to assess.…
We study the impact of the symmetry energy on properties of nuclear pasta phases and crust-core transition in neutron stars. We perform a self-consistent Thomas--Fermi calculation employing the relativistic mean-field model. The properties of pasta phases presented in the inner crust of neutron stars are investigated and the crust-core transition is examined. It is found that the slope of the symmetry energy plays an important role in determining the pasta phase structure and the crust-core transition. The correlation between the symmetry energy slope and the crust-core transition density obta…
Non uniform structures of the nucleon matter at subnuclear densities are numerically studied by means of the density functional theory with relativistic mean-fields coupled with the electric field. A particular role of the charge screening effects is demonstrated.
Nuclear pasta topology is an essential ingredient to determine transport properties in the inner crust of neutron stars. We perform semi-classical molecular dynamics simulations of nuclear pasta for proton fractions $Y_p=0.30$ and $Y_p=0.40$ near one third of nuclear saturation density, $n=0.05\,\mathrm{fm}^{-3}$, at a temperature $T=1.0\,\mathrm{MeV}$. Our simulations are, to our knowledge, the largest nuclear pasta simulations to date and contain up to $3\,276\,800$ nucleons in the $Y_p=0.30$ and $819\,200$ nucleons in the $Y_p=0.40$ case. An algorithm to determine which nucleons are part of…
We numerically explore the pasta structures and properties of low-density nuclear matter without any assumption on the geometry. We observe conventional pasta structures, while a mixture of the pasta structures appears as a metastable state at some transient densities. We also discuss the lattice structure of droplets.
This investigation explores the phononic thermal conductivity of nuclear star matter as it undergoes the "topological" transition to the "pasta" regime, and further down to the solid-liquid phase transition. The study was carried out using molecular dynamics simulations with nuclear potentials embedded in an effective (i.e. Thomas-Fermi) Coulomb potential. The thermal conductivity experiences a dramatic change within a narrow temperature interval around T=1 MeV. This change accomplishes the "pasta" breakdown during a heating process. The thermal conductivity by flipping protons' or neutrons' v…
We study the role of the effective Coulomb interaction strength and length on the dynamics of nucleons in conditions according to those in a neutron star's crust. Calculations were made with a semi-classical molecular dynamics model, studying isospin symmetric matter at sub-saturation densities and low temperatures. The electrostatic interaction between protons interaction is included in the form of a screened Coulomb potential in the spirit of the Thomas-Fermi approximation, but the screening length is artificially varied to explore its effect on the formation of the non-homogeneous nuclear s…
In this work the low density regions of nuclear and neutron star matter are studied. The search for the existence of pasta phases in this region is performed within the context of the quark-meson coupling (QMC) model, which incorporates quark degrees of freedom. Fixed proton fractions are considered, as well as nuclear matter in beta equilibrium at zero temperature. We discuss the recent attempts to better understand the surface energy in the coexistence phases regime and we present results that show the existence of the pasta phases subject to some choices of the surface energy coefficient. W…
A mixture of superconducting and superfluid nuclear liquids of protons coupled to the ultrarelativistic electron gas, and neutrons is considered. In the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) approximation, the energy-momentum (stress) tensor is derived, and the entrainment contribution is found in the explicit form. It is shown that this contribution generates a force density, when a superfluid velocity lag and the magnetic field are simultaneously present. This force may be important in the nuclear "pasta" phase in neutron stars, if the proton and neutron Cooper pairing in the pasta phase is taken into a…
The pasta phases are calculated for warm stellar matter in a framework of relativistic mean-field models, including the possibility of light cluster formation. Results from three different semiclassical approaches are compared with a quantum statistical calculation. Light clusters are considered as point-like particles, and their abundances are determined from the minimization of the free energy. The couplings of the light-clusters to mesons are determined from experimental chemical equilibrium constants and many-body quantum statistical calculations. The effect of these light clusters on the …
We investigate nuclear pasta structures at high temperatures in the framework of relativistic mean field model with Thomas-Fermi approximation. Typical pasta structures (droplet, rod, slab, tube, and bubble) are obtained, which form various crystalline configurations. The properties of those nuclear pastas are examined in a three-dimensional geometry with reflection symmetry, where the optimum lattice constants are fixed by reproducing the droplet/bubble density that minimizes the free energy adopting spherical or cylindrical approximations for Wigner-Seitz cells. It is found that different cr…
Nuclear clusters or voids in the inner crust of neutron stars were predicted to have various shapes collectively nicknamed nuclear pasta. The recent review in Ref. \cite{Lopez1} by López, Dorso and Frank summarized their systematic investigations into properties especially the morphological and thermodynamical phase transitions of the nuclear pasta within a Classical Molecular Dynamics model, providing further stimuli to find more observational evidences of the predicted nuclear pasta in neutron stars.
[Background] The "pasta" phase of nuclear matter may play an important role in the structure and evolution of neutron stars. Recent works suggest nuclear pasta has a high resistivity which could be explained by the presence of long lived topological defects. The defects act as impurities that decrease thermal and electrical conductivity of the pasta. [Purpose] To quantify how topological defects affect transport properties of nuclear pasta and estimate this effect using an impurity parameter $Q_{\text{imp}}$. [Methods] Contrast molecular dynamics simulations of up to 409\,600 nucleons arranged…
Nuclear ``pasta'', nonspherical nuclei in dense matter, is predicted to occur in collapsing supernova cores. We show how pasta phases affect the neutrino transport cross section via weak neutral current using several nuclear models. This is the first calculation of the neutrino opacity of the phases with rod-like and slab-like nuclei taking account of finite temperature effects, which are well described by the quantum molecular dynamics. We also show that pasta phases can occupy 10--20% of the mass of supernova cores in the later stage of the collapse.
We investigate the effects of the symmetry energy on nuclear pasta phases and the crust-core transition in neutron stars. We employ the relativistic mean-field approach and the coexisting phases method to study the properties of pasta phases presented in the inner crust of neutron stars. It is found that the slope of the nuclear symmetry energy at saturation density plays an important role in the crust-core transition and pasta phase properties. The correlation between the symmetry energy slope and the crust-core transition density obtained in this study is consistent with those obtained by ot…
In cores of supernovae and crusts of neutron stars, nuclei can adopt interesting shapes, such as rods or slabs, etc., which are referred to as nuclear "pasta." In recent years, we have studied the pasta phases focusing on their dynamical aspects with a quantum molecular dynamic (QMD) approach. In this article, we review these works. We also focus on the treatment of the Coulomb interaction.
The formation of complex nonuniform phases of nuclear matter, known as nuclear pasta, is studied with molecular dynamics simulations containing 51200 nucleons. A phenomenological nuclear interaction is used that reproduces the saturation binding energy and density of nuclear matter. Systems are prepared at an initial density of 0.10fm$^{-3}$ and then the density is decreased by expanding the simulation volume at different rates to densities of 0.01 fm$^{-3}$ or less. An originally uniform system of nuclear matter is observed to form spherical bubbles ("swiss cheese"), hollow tubes, flat plates…
Background: Nuclear pasta matter, emerging due to the competition between the long-range Coulomb force and the short-range strong force, is believed to be present in astrophysical scenarios, such as neutron stars and core-collapse supernovae. Its structure can have a high impact e.g. on neutrino transport or the tidal deformability of neutron stars. Purpose: We investigate the impact of nuclear pasta on neutrino interactions and compare the results to uniform matter. Method: We calculate the elastic and inelastic static structure factors for nuclear pasta matter using density functional theory…
Nuclear matter under the conditions of a supernova explosion unfolds into a rich variety of spatially structured phases, called nuclear pasta. We investigate the role of periodic network-like structures with negatively curved interfaces in nuclear pasta structures, by static and dynamic Hartree-Fock simulations in periodic lattices. As the most prominent result, we identify for the first time the {\it single gyroid} network structure of cubic chiral $I4_123$ symmetry, a well known configuration in nanostructured soft-matter systems, both as a dynamical state and as a cooled static solution. Si…
Despite their astrophysical relevance, nuclear pasta phases are relatively unstudied at high temperatures. We present molecular dynamics simulations of symmetric nuclear matter with several topologies of `lasagna' at a range of temperatures to study the pasta-uniform transition. Using the Minkowski functionals we quantify trends in the occupied volume, surface area, mean breadth, and Euler characteristic. The amplitude of surface displacements of the pasta increase with temperature which produce short lived topological defects such as holes and filaments near melting, resulting in power laws f…
The nuclear pasta -- a novel state of matter having nucleons arranged in a variety of complex shapes -- is expected to be found in the crust of neutron stars and in core-collapse supernovae at subnuclear densities of about $10^{14}$ g/cm$^3$. Due to frustration, a phenomenon that emerges from the competition between short-range nuclear attraction and long-range Coulomb repulsion, the nuclear pasta displays a preponderance of unique low-energy excitations. These excitations could have a strong impact on many transport properties, such as neutrino propagation through stellar environments. The ex…
Background: Nuclear pasta, emerging due to the competition between the long-range Coulomb force and the short-range strong force, is believed to be present in astrophysical scenarios, such as neutron stars and core-collapse supernovae. Its structure can have a high impact e.g. on neutrino transport or the tidal deformability of neutron stars. Purpose: We study several possible pasta configurations, all of them minimal surface configurations, which are expected to appear in the mid-density regime of nuclear pasta, i.e. around 40% of the nuclear saturation density. In particular we are intereste…
We find that the abundance of large clusters of nucleons in neutron-rich matter at sub-nuclear density is greatly reduced by finite temperature effects when matter is close to beta-equilibrium. Large nuclei and exotic non-spherical nuclear configurations called pasta, favored in the vicinity of the transition to uniform matter at $T=0$, dissolve at relatively low temperature. For matter close to beta-equilibrium we find that the pasta melting temperature is $T_m^β\simeq 4\pm 1$~MeV for realistic equations of state. The mechanism for pasta dissolution is discussed, and in general $T_m^β$ is sho…
We present a simple model for electron transport in a possible layer of exotic nuclear clusters (in the so called nuclear pasta layer) between the crust and liquid core of a strongly magnetized neutron star. The electron transport there can be strongly anisotropic and gyrotropic. The anisotropy is produced by different electron effective collision frequencies along and across local symmetry axis in domains of exotic ordered nuclear clusters and by complicated effects of the magnetic field. We also calculate averaged kinetic coefficients in case local domains are freely oriented. Possible appli…
Structure of cold and hot dense matter at subnuclear densities is investigated by quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations. Obtained phase diagrams show that the density of the phase boundaries between the different nuclear structures decreases with increasing temperature due to the thermal expansion of nuclear matter region.
Nuclear matter under astrophysical conditions is explored with time-dependent and static Hartree-Fock calculations. The focus is in a regime of densities where matter segregates into liquid and gaseous phases unfolding a rich scenario of geometries, often called nuclear pasta shapes (e.g. spaghetti, lasagna). Particularly the appearance of the different phases depending on the proton fraction and the transition to uniform matter are investigated. In this context the neutron background density is of special interest, because it plays a crucial role for the type of pasta shape which is built. Th…
We examine the model dependence of the phase diagram of inhomogeneous nulcear matter in supernova cores using the quantum molecular dynamics (QMD). Inhomogeneous matter includes crystallized matter with nonspherical nuclei - "pasta" phases - and the liquid-gas phase separating nuclear matter. Major differences between the phase diagrams of the QMD models can be explained by the energy of pure neutron matter at low densities and the saturation density of asymmetric nuclear matter. We show the density dependence of the symmetry energy is also useful to understand uncertainties of the phase diagr…
Nuclear pasta, with nucleons arranged into tubes, sheets, or other complex shapes, is expected in core collapse supernovae (SNe) at just below nuclear density. We calculate the additional opacity from neutrino-pasta coherent scattering using molecular dynamics simulations. We approximately include this opacity in simulations of SNe. We find that pasta slows neutrino diffusion and greatly increases the neutrino signal at late times of 10 or more seconds after stellar core collapse. This signal, for a galactic SN, should be clearly visible in large detectors such as Super-Kamiokande.
We study the transport properties of nuclear pasta for a wide range of density, temperature and proton fractions, relevant for different astrophysical scenarios adopting a quantum molecular dynamics model. In particular, we estimate the values of shear viscosity as well as electrical and thermal conductivities by calculating the static structure factor $S(q)$ using simulation data. In the density and temperature range where the pasta phase appears, the static structure factor shows irregular behavior. The presence of a slab phase greatly enhances the peak in $S(q)$. However, the effect of irre…
Nonuniform structure of low-density nuclear matter, known as nuclear pasta, is expected to appear not only in the inner crust of neutron stars but also in core-collapse supernova explosions and neutron-star mergers. We perform fully three-dimensional calculations of inhomogeneous nuclear matter and neutron-star matter in the low-density region using the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The nuclear interaction is described in the relativistic mean-field approach with the point-coupling interaction, where the meson exchange in each channel is replaced by the contact interaction between nucleons. We i…
In supernova cores and neutron star crusts, nuclei with exotic shapes such as rod-like and slab-like nuclei are expected to exist. These nuclei are collectively called nuclear "pasta". For the past decades, existence of the pasta phases in the equilibrium state has been studied using various methods. Recently, the formation process of the pasta phases, which has been a long-standing problem, has been unveiled using molecular dynamics simulations. In this review, we first provide the astrophysical background of supernovae and neutron stars and overview the history of the study of the pasta phas…
Nuclear pasta, with non-spherical shapes, is expected near the base of the crust in neutron stars. Large scale molecular dynamics simulations of pasta show long lived topological defects that could increase electron scattering and reduce both the thermal and electrical conductivities. We model a possible low conductivity pasta layer by increasing an impurity parameter Q_{imp}. Predictions of light curves for the low mass X-ray binary MXB 1659-29, assuming a large Q_{imp}, find continued late time cooling that is consistent with Chandra observations. The electrical and thermal conductivities ar…
In supernova cores and neutron star crusts, nuclei are thought to deform to rodlike and slablike shapes, which are often called nuclear pasta. We study the equilibrium properties of the nuclear pasta by using a liquid drop model with curvature corrections. It is confirmed that the curvature effect acts to lower the transition densities between different shapes. We also examine the gyroid structure, which was recently suggested as a different type of nuclear pasta by analogy with the polymer systems. The gyroid structure investigated in this paper is approximately formulated as an extension of …
The effects of including light clusters in nuclear matter at low densities are investigated within four different parametrizations of relativistic models at finite temperature. Both homogeneous and inhomogeneous matter (pasta phase) are described for neutral nuclear matter with fixed proton fractions. We discuss the effect of the density dependence of the symmetry energy, the temperature and the proton fraction on the non-homogeneous matter forming the inner crust of proto-neutron stars. It is shown that the number of nucleons in the clusters, the cluster proton fraction and the sizes of the W…
To provide a practitioner's introduction to the study of the nuclear pasta, this article presents a brief review of the evolution of the methods used to study nucleon dynamics. This is followed with a more complete description of the extension of classical molecular dynamics (CMD) to infinite systems. The different techniques used to characterize the nuclear structure, such as cluster recognition algorithms, radial correlation functions and the Minkowski functionals are presented. We reach full functionality of the extended CMD when the Coulomb interaction is introduced through two common meth…
Structure of cold dense stellar matter at subnuclear densities is investigated with quantum molecular dynamics (QMD). We succeeded in showing that the phases with slab-like and rod-like nuclei etc. can be formed dynamically without any assumptions on the nuclear shape. Our result suggests the existence of these kinds of phases in neutron star crusts.
The effects of the existence of exotic nuclear shapes at the bottom of the neutron star inner crust - nuclear `pasta' - on observational phenomena are estimated by comparing the limiting cases that those phases have a vanishing shear modulus and that they have the shear modulus of a crystalline solid . We estimate the effect on torsional crustal vibrations and on the maximum quadrupole ellipticity sustainable by the crust. The crust composition and transition densities are calculated consistently with the global properties, using a liquid drop model with a bulk nuclear equation of state (EoS) …
Background: Nuclear pasta phases, present in the inner crust of neutron stars, are associated with nucleonic matter at sub-saturation densities arranged in regular shapes. Those complex phases, residing in a layer which is approximately 100 m thick, impact many features of neutron stars. Theoretical quantum-mechanical simulations of nuclear pasta are usually carried out in finite 3D boxes assuming periodic boundary conditions (PBC). The resulting solutions are affected by spurious finite-size effects. Purpose: In order to remove spurious finite-size effects, it is convenient to employ twist-av…
We investigate the nuclear pasta phases in neutron star crusts by conducting a large number of three-dimensional Hartree-Fock+BCS calculations at densities leading to the crust-core transition. We survey the shape parameter space of pasta at constant pressure. Spaghetti, waffles, lasagna, bi-continuous phases and cylindrical holes occupy local minima in the resulting Gibbs energy surfaces. The bi-continuous phase, in which both the neutron gas and nuclear matter extend continuously in all dimensions and therefore protons are delocalized, appears over a large range of depths. Our results suppor…
We first explore the liquid-gas mixed phase in a bulk calculation, where two phases coexist without the geometrical structures. In the case of symmetric nuclear matter, the system behaves congruently, and the Maxwell construction becomes relevant. For asymmetric nuclear matter, on the other hand, the phase equilibrium is no more attained by the Maxwell construction since the liquid and gas phases are non-congruent; the particle fractions become completely different with each other. One of the origins of such non-congruence is attributed to the large symmetry energy. Subsequently we explore the…
Complex and exotic nuclear geometries are expected to appear naturally in dense nuclear matter found in the crust of neutron stars and supernovae environment collectively referred to as nuclear pasta. The pasta geometries depend on the average baryon density, proton fraction and temperature and are critically important in the determination of many transport properties of matter in supernovae and the crust of neutron stars. Using a set of self-consistent microscopic nuclear energy density functionals we present the first results of large scale quantum simulations of pasta phases at baryon densi…
In cores of supernovae and crusts of neutron stars, nuclei can adopt interesting shapes, such as rods or slabs, etc., which are referred to as nuclear "pasta." Recently, we have been studying the pasta phases focusing on their dynamical aspects with quantum molecular dynamic (QMD) approach. We review our findings on the following topics: dynamical formation of the pasta phases by cooling down the hot uniform nuclear matter; a phase diagram on the density versus temperature plane; structural transitions between the pasta phases induced by compression and their mechanism. Properties of the nucle…
We calculate the shear viscosity $η$ and thermal conductivity $κ$ of a nuclear pasta phase in neutron star crusts. This involves complex non-spherical shapes. We use semiclassical molecular dynamics simulations involving 40,000 to 100,000 nucleons. The viscosity $η$ can be simply expressed in terms of the height $Z^*$ and width $Δq$ of the peak in the static structure factor $S_p(q)$. We find that $η$ increases somewhat, compared to a lower density phase involving spherical nuclei, because $Z^*$ decreases from form factor and ion screening effects. However, we do not find a dramatic increase i…
The equilibrium distributions of the different pasta geometries and their linear sizes are calculated from the mean field Gibbs energy functional in symmetric nuclear matter at finite temperature. The average sizes and shapes coincide approximately with the ones predicted by a standard pasta calculation in the coexisting phase approximation, but fluctuations are additionally calculated and seen to increase with temperature and baryonic density. The different pasta shapes are shown to coexist in a wide domain of density and temperature, in qualitative agreement with the findings of large scale …
In low-density nuclear matter which is relevant to the crust region of neutron stars and collapsing stage of supernovae, non-uniform structures called "nuclear pasta" are expected. So far, most works on nuclear pasta have used the Wigner-Seitz cell approximation with anzats about the geometrical structures like droplet, rod, slab and so on. We perform fully three-dimensional calculation of non-uniform nuclear matter for some cases with fixed proton ratios and in beta-equilibrium based on the relativistic mean-field model and the Thomas-Fermi approximation. In our calculation typical pasta stru…
More than twenty years ago, it was predicted that nuclei can adopt interesting shapes, such as rods or slabs, etc., in the cores of supernovae and the crusts of neutron stars. These non-spherical nuclei are referred to as nuclear "pasta". In recent years, we have been studying the dynamics of the pasta phases using a method called quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) and have opened up a new aspect of study for this system. Our findings include: dynamical formation of the pasta phases by cooling down the hot uniform nuclear matter; phase diagrams in the density versus temperature plane; structural…
In this paper, we calculate the diffusion coefficients that are related to the neutrino opacities considering the formation of nuclear pasta and homogeneous matter at low densities. Our results show that the mean free paths are significantly altered by the presence of nuclear pasta in stellar matter when compared with the results obtained with homogeneous matter. These differences in neutrino opacities certainly influence the Kelvin-Helmholtz phase of protoneutron stars and consequently the results of supernova explosion simulations.
