The Equation of State of Nuclear Matter : from Finite Nuclei to Neutron Stars
G. F. Burgio, I. Vidana
备注：
21 pages, 5 figures, invited contribution for the special issue "Shedding Light to the Dark sides of the Universe: Cosmology from Strong Interactions" to appear in the open access journal Universe
{\it Background.} We investigate possible correlations between neutron star observables and properties of atomic nuclei. Particularly, we explore how the tidal deformability of a 1.4 solar mass neutron star, $M_{1.4}$, and the neutron skin thickness of ${^{48}}$Ca and ${^{208}}$Pb are related to the stellar radius and the stiffness of the symmetry energy. {\it Methods.} We examine a large set of nuclear equations of state based on phenomenological models (Skyrme, NLWM, DDM) and {\it ab-initio} theoretical methods (BBG, Dirac-Brueckner, Variational, Quantum Monte Carlo). {\it Results.} We find strong correlations between tidal deformability and NS radius, whereas a weaker correlation does exist with the stiffness of the symmetry energy. Regarding the neutron skin thickness, weak correlations appear both with the stiffness of the symmetry energy, and the radius of a $M_{1.4}$. {\it Conclusion.} The tidal deformability of a $M_{1.4}$ and the neutron-skin thickness of atomic nuclei show some degree of correlation with nuclear and astrophysical observables, which however depends on the ensemble of adopted EoS.
Nuclear pairing is studied both in atomic nuclei and in neutron-star crusts in the unified framework of the energy-density functional theory using generalized Skyrme functionals complemented with a local pairing functional obtained from many-body calculations in homogeneous nuclear matter using realistic forces.
Neutron stars are the densest objects in the Universe. In this paper we consider so-called inner crust - the layer, where neutron-excess nuclei are immersed into degenerate gas of electrons and sea of quasi-free neutrons. It was generally believed that spherical nuclei become unstable with respect to quadrupole deformations at high densities and here we consider this instability. Within perturbative approach we show that spherical nuclei with equilibrium number density are, in fact, stable with respect to infinitesimal quadrupole deformation. This is due to background of degenerate electrons a…
The synthesis of hyper-heavy elements is investigated under conditions simulating neutron star environment. The Constrained Molecular Dynamics (CoMD) approach is used to simulate low energy collisions of extremely n-rich nuclei. A new type of the fusion barrier due to a "neutron wind" is observed when the effect of neutron star environment (screening of Coulomb interaction) is introduced implicitly. When introducing also a background of surrounding nuclei, the nuclear fusion becomes possible down to temperatures of 10$^{8}$ K and synthesis of extremely heavy and n-rich nuclei appears feasible.…
For nuclei near a maximum of the neutron strength function, the secular dependence on energy E of s-wave partial neutron widths differs from the canonical form given by the square root of E. We derive the universal form of that dependence and show that it is expected to significantly influence the analysis of neutron resonance data.
The structure of Ne, Na, Mg, Al, Si and S nuclei near the neutron drip-line region is investigated in the frame-work of relativistic meannfield (RMF) and non-relativistic Skyrme Hartree-Fock formalisms. The drip-line of these nuclei are pointed out. We analysed the large deformation structures and many of these neutron rich nuclei are quite deformed. New magic number are seen for these deformed nuclei.
A short review of the present knowledge of the nucleons distribution in nuclei is given. A proposal is made about a possible measurements of the neutron distribution through polarized electron scattering off nuclei.
A simple formula is derived that describes how the Coulomb interaction affects the proton radius in nuclei. It determines the difference between neutron and proton radii in nuclei with N approx Z. It also provides an estimate for the difference between the radii of the Z core neutrons and the protons in nuclei with a large neutron excess. The results obtained from the derived formula are compared with radii calculated in a Skyrme Hartree-Fock calculation.
The E1 strength is systematically analyzed in very neutron-rich Sn nuclei, beyond $^{132}$Sn until $^{166}$Sn, within the Relativistic Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation. The great neutron excess favors the appearance of a deformed ground state for $^{142-162}$Sn. The evolution of the low-lying strength in deformed nuclei is determined by the interplay of two factors, isospin asymmetry and deformation: while greater neutron excess increases the total low-lying strength, deformation hinders and spreads it. Very neutron rich deformed nuclei may not be as good candidates as stable spherical…
The complex nature of the nuclear forces generates a broad range and diversity of observational phenomena. Heavy nuclei, though orders of magnitude less massive than neutron stars, are governed by the same underlying physics, which is enshrined in the nuclear equation of state. Heavy nuclei are expected to develop a neutron-rich skin where many neutrons collect near the surface. Such a skin thickness is strongly sensitive to the poorly-known density dependence of the symmetry energy near saturation density. An accurate and model-independent determination of the neutron-skin thickness of heavy …
The electric dipole moments (EDMs) of neutron-odd nuclei with even protons are systematically evaluated. We first derive the relation between the EDM and the magnetic moment operators by making use of the core polarization scheme. This relation enables us to calculate the EDM of neutron-odd nuclei without any free parameters. From this calculation, one may find the best atomic system suitable for future EDM experiments.
We investigate outer crust compositions for a wide range of magnetic field strengths, up to $B\simeq 4\times10^{18}$ G, employing the latest experimental nuclear masses supplemented with various mass models. The essential effects of the magnetic field are twoholds: 1) Enhancement of electron fraction, which is connected to that of protons via the charge neutrality condition, due to the Landau-Rabi quantization of electron motion perpendicular to the field, namely, neutron-richness is suppressed for a given pressure. As a result, 2) nuclei can exist at higher pressures without dripping out neut…
Covariant density functional theory is used to analyze the evolution of low-lying M1 strength in superfluid deformed nuclei in the framework of the self-consistent Relativistic Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (RQRPA). In nuclei with a pronounced neutron excess two scissor modes are found. Besides the conventional scissor mode, where the deformed proton and neutron distributions oscillate against each other, a new soft M1 mode is found, where the deformed neutron skin oscillates in a scissor like motion against a deformed proton-neutron core.
We briefly review the significance of quantum corrections in the total energy of systems with voids: bubble nuclei, atomic clusters and the inhomogeneous phase of neutron stars.
We study E1 resonances, breakup and fusion reactions for weakly bound Be nuclei. The absorbing-boundary condition (ABC) is used to describe both the outgoing and incoming boundary conditions. The neutron continuum plays important roles in response and reaction of neutron drip-line nuclei.
Statistical spectroscopic results using the spectral distribution theory are obtained for the structure of neutron-rich light nuclei going towards the drip line and compared to experimental values available. These results will be useful for nuclear astrophysics problems where often averaged nuclear properties are adequate.
Neutron rich He nuclei have been investigated using relativistic mean field approach in co-ordinate space. Elastic partial scattering cross sections for proton scattering in inverse kinematics have been calculated using the theoretically obtained density for $^{6,8}$He and compared with experiment. The energies of the low-lying resonance states in the neutron unstable nuclei $^{5,7}$He have also been calculated and compared with experimental observations.
We present predictions for proton skins based on isospin-asymmetric equations of state derived microscopically from high-precision chiral few-nucleon interactions. Moreover, we investigate the relation between the neutron skin of a nucleus and the difference between the proton radii of the corresponding mirror nuclei.
The symmetry energy for nuclear matter and its relation to the neutron skin in finite nuclei is discussed. The symmetry energy as a function of density obtained in a self-consistent Green function approach is presented and compared to the results of other recent theoretical approaches. A partial explanation of the linear relation between the symmetry energy and the neutron skin is proposed. The potential of several experimental methods to extract the neutron skin is examined.
Using HF+BCS method we study light nuclei with nuclear charge in the range $2 \leq Z \leq 8$ and lying near the neutron drip line. The HF method uses effective Skyrme forces and allows for axial deformations. We find that the neutron drip line forms stability peninsulas at $^{18}$He and $^{40}$C. These isotopes are found to be stable against one neutron emission and possess the highest known neutron to proton ratio in stable nuclei.
Examples of the change of neutron shell-structure in both weakly-bound and resonant neutron one-particle levels in nuclei towards the neutron drip line are exhibited. It is shown that the shell-structure change due to the weak binding may lead to the deformation of those nuclei with the neutron numbers $N \approx$ 8, 20, 28 and 40, which are known to be magic numbers in stable nuclei. Nuclei in the "island of inversion" are most easily and in a simple manner understood in terms of deformation. As an example of spectroscopic properties other than single-particle energies, magnetic moments of so…
We study the effects of correlations beyond the independent particle model in the evaluation of neutron skins of various neutron-rich doubly magic nuclei. We consider short- and long-range correlations to take into account the presence of the strongly repulsive core of the bare nucleon-nucleon interaction and collective nuclear phenomena, respectively. Despite the strong sensitivity on the structure of the nucleus considered, our results indicate that, in general, correlations increase the values of the neutron skins.
Density dependent relativistic Hartree-Fock theory has been extended to describe properties of exotic nuclei. The effects of Fock exchange terms and of pi - and rho - meson contributions are discussed. These effects are found to be more important for neutron rich nuclei than for nuclei near the valley of stability.
We discuss the sensitivity of fission barrier for heavy neutron-rich nuclei to fission paths in the two dimensional neutron-proton quadrupole plane. To this end, we use the constrained Skyrme-Hartree-Fock + BCS method, and examine the difference of fission barriers obtained with three constraining operators, that is, the neutron, proton, and mass quadrupole operators. We investigate $^{220}$U, $^{236}$U, and $^{266}$U, %from proton-rich to neutron-rich uranium isotopes, that is relevant to r-process nucleosynthesis. We find that the fission barrier heights are almost the same among the three c…
In these proceedings, we discuss the current status of nuclear bound state predictions based on chiral nuclear interactions. Results of ordinary $s$- and $p$-shell nuclei and light hypernuclei are shown.
The neutron skin of atomic nuclei impacts the structure of neutron-rich nuclei, the equation of state of nucleonic matter, and the size of neutron stars. Here we predict the neutron skin of selected light- and medium-mass nuclei using coupled-cluster theory and the auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo method with two- and three-nucleon forces from chiral effective field theory. We find a linear correlation between the neutron skin and the isospin asymmetry in agreement with the liquid-drop model and compare with data. We also extract the linear relationship that describes the difference betwe…
The even-Z odd-N neutron-halo nuclei, which are the possible lightest neutron-halo nuclei heavier than $^{37}$Mg, are explored by studying the shell-structure unique in weakly-bound neutrons for spherical or deformed shape. It is pointed out that due to the narrowed N=50 spherical energy-gap and a few resulting close-lying neutron one-particle levels, 1g$_{9/2}$, 3s$_{1/2}$, and 2d$_{5/2}$, for spherical shape, nuclei with some weakly-bound neutrons filling in those levels may be deformed and have a good chance to show deformed s-wave halo. Promising candidates are $^{71}_{24}$Cr$_{47}$, $^{73…
The di-neutron correlation is a spatial correlation with which two valence neutrons are located at a similar position inside a nucleus. We discuss possible experimental probes for the di-neutron correlation. This includes the Coulomb breakup and the pair transfer reactions of neutron-rich nuclei, and the direct two-neutron decays of nuclei beyond the neutron drip-line.
We apply a particle-particle RPA model to study the properties of the two-neutron valence wave function in nuclei 14-C, 12-Be, 11-Li and 14-Be. The RPA model takes account of two body correlations in the core so that it gives a better description of energies and amplitudes than models which assume a neutron closed shell (or subshell) core. With a Gogny neutron-neutron effective interaction or with the equivalent density dependent delta force we are able to reproduce the two-neutron separation energies in these nuclei and in the corresponding cores, except for 9-Li. These calculations suggest t…
Shell effects in nuclei close to the neutron-drip lines have been investigated. It has been demonstrated in the relativistic mean-field theory that nuclei very far from stability manifest the shell effects strongly. This behaviour is in accord with the predictions of nuclear masses in the finite-range droplet model including shell corrections. As a consequence we find a large neutron halo in nuclei near the neutron-drip line. The shell effects predicted in the existing Skyrme mean-field theory in comparison are significantly weaker than those of the other approaches.
The radii of nucleon distribution and neutron skin in nuclei beyond the β-stability line are studied within the extended Thomas-Fermi approximation. We show that the growth of neutron skin in unstable nuclei does not obey the saturation condition because of the neutron coat. The neutron coat indicates the possibility of giant neutron halo which is growing with moving away from the beta stability line. We demonstrate the presence of strong shell oscillations in the charge radius R_C and the relation of R_C to the isospin shift of neutron-proton chemical potentials Δλ=λ_n-λ_p for nuclei beyond t…
We report here an empirical formalism for predicting the cross-sections of neutron-rich nuclei produced in fragmentation of relativistic \b{eta}-unstable neutron-rich projectiles in the mid-mass region. The formalism is based on the abrasion-ablation picture of the projectile fragmentation reaction. It has been shown that the formalism can accurately reproduce the experimental cross-section data for nuclei produced in the fragmentation of 132Sn. The formalism, it is shown, can also reproduce the experimental cross-sections of neutron-rich nuclei produced in the fragmentation of 129Xe fairly ac…
By using a phenomenologically successful Woods-Saxon potential, I study the shape and shell structure of (A) neutron drip line nuclei with 10 \leq N \leq 60, (B) neutron-rich nuclei related to the r- process with 40 \leq N \leq 90, and (C) one-particle spectra in the potential provided by the nucleus 70Fe as a representative of so-called N=40 "island of inversion (IoI)" nuclei. First, the shell structure that is unique in very weakly-bound neutrons is systematically studied, and the approximate neutron number of odd-N nuclei at which spherical (or deformed) halos can be found is pinned down. S…
The neutron-proton mass difference in finite nuclei is studied in the framework of a medium-modified Skyrme model. The possible interplay between the effective nucleon mass in finite nuclei and the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly is discussed. In particular, we find that a correct description of the properties of mirror nuclei leads to a stringent restriction of possible modifications of the nucleon's effective mass in nuclei.
In this paper, I have discussed the numerical predictions for the neutron-skin thickness (NST) of various finite nuclei starting from $^{40}$Ca to $^{238}$U using recently developed effective relativistic mean-field models G3 and IOPB-I \cite{G3, IOPB}. The calculated results are compared with the PREX-II data, and the experiment has been done with antiprotons at CERN. Further, I have also calculated the dimensional tidal deformability of a canonical neutron star 1.4$M_\odot$ and compared it with the recent observation of GW1701817.
Exotic and drip-line nuclei as well as nuclei immersed in a low density gas of neutrons in the outer crust of neutron stars are systematically investigated with respect to their neutron pairing properties. This is done using Skyrme density-functional and different pairing forces such as a density-dependent contact interaction and a separable form of a finite-range Gogny interaction. Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov and BCS theories are compared. It is found that neutron pairing is reduced towards the drip line while overcast by strong shell effects. Furthermore resonances in the continuum can have an i…
We study the correlation between the thickness of the neutron skin in finite nuclei and the nuclear symmetry energy for isotopic chains of even-even Ni, Sn, and Pb nuclei in the framework of the deformed self-consistent mean-field Skyrme HF+BCS method. The symmetry energy, the neutron pressure and the asymmetric compressibility in finite nuclei are calculated within the coherent density fluctuation model using the symmetry energy as a function of density within the Brueckner energy-density functional. The mass dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy and the neutron skin thickness are also st…
We discuss a decay of unbound nuclei beyond the neutron drip-line using a three-body model with a core nucleus and two valence neutrons. We particularly discuss the role of dineutron correlation between the valence neutrons in the two-neutron emission from the ground state of $^{26}$O and $^{10}$He nuclei. Our calculations clearly indicate that the emission of the two neutrons in the back-to-back direction is enhanced due to the dineutron correlation.
The empirical pairing gaps derived from four different odd-even mass staggering formulas are compared. By performing single-$j$ shell and multi-shell seniority model calculations as well as by using the standard HFB approach with Skyrme force we show that the simplest three-point formula $Δ_C^ {(3)}(N)=\frac{1}{2}\left[B(N,Z)+B(N-2,Z)-2B(N-1,Z)\right]$ can provide a good measure of the neutron pairing gap in even-$N$ nuclei. It removes to a large extent the contribution from the nuclear mean field as well as contributions from shell structure details. It is also less contaminated by the Wigner…
Neutron rich Zr nuclei with number of neutrons between $N$= 50 and 82 are investigated in the relativistic mean field approach in co-ordinate space. The resonant levels in the positive energy continuum have been explicitly included in the calculation. Odd nuclei have been treated in the blocking approximation. Our calculation indicates that the dripline for odd mass isotopes is far away from that for the even mass ones. Pairing interaction plays a significant role in stabilizing the even isotopes, thus extending the dripline for them.
After a brief review of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method with Skyrme effective interactions, we show how it can be applied to the description of various nuclear systems, from finite nuclei to neutron-star crusts.
A new method is proposed to deduce the neutron radii of neutron-rich nuclei. This method requires measuring the reaction cross sections of both the neutron-rich nucleus and its stable isotope at the same energy on a proton target. Using this method and the available experimental data of $^{12,22}$C + $p$ and $^{9,14}$Be + $p$ at 40$A$ MeV, the neutron radii of $^{22}$C and $^{14}$Be have been deduced for the first time.
We studied the charge radius ($r_{c}$), neutron radius ($r_n$), and neutron skin-thickness ($Δr=r_n-r_p$) over a chain of isotopes from C to Zr with the stable region to the neutron drip line. Theoretical calculations are done with axially deformed self-consistent relativistic mean-field theory (RMF) with effective nonlinear NL3 and NL3* interactions. The theoretically estimated values are compared with available experimental data and a reasonable agreement are noted. We additionally assessed the two-neutron separation energy ($S_{2n}$) to mark the drip line nuclei of the considered isotopic s…
The well-known correlations of low-energy three and four-nucleon observables with a typical three-nucleon scale (e.g., the Tjon line) is extended to light nuclei and nuclear matter. Evidence for the scaling between light nuclei binding energies and the triton one are pointed out. We argue that the saturation energy and density of nuclear matter are correlated to the triton binding energy. The available systematic nuclear matter calculations indicate a possible band structure representing these correlations.
We formulate a many-body theory to calculate the cross section of direct radiative neutron capture reaction by means of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mean-field model and the continuum quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA). A focus is put on very neutron-rich nuclei and low-energy neutron kinetic energy in the range of O(1 keV) - O(1 MeV), relevant for the rapid neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis. We begin with the photo-absorption cross section and the E1 strength function, then, in order to apply the reciprocity theorem, we decompose the cross section into partial cross secti…
The relativistic mean field theory is applied to study some exotic properties of neutron rich nuclei as recently observed, namely, extension of the drip-line for $F$ nuclei from $^{29}F$ to $^{31}F$ and the appearence of a new shell closure at neutron number N=16. We find $^{31}F$ to be bound against one-neutron dripping but unbound only marginally for two neutron separation. The calculated functional dependence of one-neutron separation energy with neutron number for different values of $T_Z = (N-Z)/2$ signals a new shell closure at N=16 for neutron rich nuclei with $T_Z\ge 3$. This is furthe…
We develop the method for the calculation of the total reaction cross sections induced by the halo nuclei and stable nuclei. This approach is based on the Glauber theory, which is valid for nuclear reactions at high energy. It is extended for nuclear reactions at low energy and intermediate energy by including both the quantum correction and Coulomb correction under the assumption of the effective nuclear density distribution. The calculated results of the total reaction cross section induced by stable nuclei agree well with the 30 experimental data within 10 percent accuracy.The comparison be…
Asymptotic form of neutron Cooper pair penetrating to the exterior of nuclear surface is investigated with the Bogoliubov theory for the superfluid Fermions. Based on a two-particle Schrödinger equation governing the Cooper pair wave function and systematic studies for both weakly bound and stable nuclei, the Cooper pair is shown to be spatially correlated even in the asymptotic large distance limit, and the penetration length of the pair condensate is revealed to be universally governed by the two-neutron separation energy $S_{2n}$ and the di-neutron mass $2m$.
The Relativistic Hartree Bogoliubov theory is applied in the mean-field approximation to the description of properties of light nuclei with large neutron excess. Pairing correlations and the coupling to particle continuum states are described by finite range two-body forces. Using standard parameter sets for the mean-field Lagrangian and the pairing interaction of Gogny-type, self-consistent solutions in coordinate space are calculated for the ground states of a number of neutron-rich nuclei. The model predicts the location of the neutron drip-line, reduction of the spin-orbit interaction, $rm…
The paper considers the chains of successive electron capture reactions by nuclei of the iron group which take place in the crystal structures of neutron star envelopes. It is shown that as a result of such reactions the daughter nuclei in excited states accumulate within certain layers of neutron star crusts. The phonon model of interactions is proposed between the excited nuclei in the crystalline structure, as well as formation of highly excited nuclear states which emit neutrons and higher energy photons.
Two new mechanisms active in rotating nuclei located in the vicinity of neutron drip line have been discovered. Strong Coriolis interaction acting on high-$j$ orbitals transforms particle-unbound (resonance) nucleonic configurations into particle-bound ones with increasing angular momentum. The point of the transition manifests the birth of particle-bound rotational bands. Alternative possibility of the transition from particle-bound to resonance rotational band (the death of particle-bound rotational bands) with increasing spin also exists but it is less frequent in the calculations. The birt…
Fusion reactions of neutron-halo nuclei are investigated theoretically with a three-body model. The time-dependent wave-packet method is used to solve the three-body Schrodinger equation. The halo neutron behaves as a spectator during the Coulomb dissociation process of the projectile. The fusion cross sections of 11Be-209Bi and 6He-238U are calculated and are compared with measurements. Our calculation indicates that the fusion cross section is slightly hindered by the presence of weakly bound neutrons.
We set up a formalism to calculate the charge form factors of two-neutron halo nuclei with S-wave neutron-core interactions in the framework of the halo effective field theory. The method is applied to some known and suspected halo nuclei. In particular, we calculate the form factors and charge radii relative to the core to leading order in the halo EFT and compare to experiments where they are available. Moreover, we investigate the general dependence of the charge radius on the core mass and the one- and two-neutron separation energies.
Quadrupole transition densities in neutron-rich nuclei in the vicinity of the neutron drip-line are calculated in the framework of the Random Phase Approximation. The continuum is treated by expansion in oscillator functions. We focus on the states which contribute to the usual Giant Quadrupole Resonance, and not on the low-lying strength which is also expected in such nuclei and whose collective character is still under debate. We find that, due to the large neutron skin in these nuclei, the isoscalar and isovector modes are in general strongly mixed. We further show that the transition densi…
The proton and neutron density distributions, one- and two-neutron separation energies and radii of nuclei for which neutron halos are experimentally observed, are calculated using the self-consistent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method with the effective interaction of Gogny. Halo factors are evaluated assuming hydrogen-like antiproton wave functions. The factors agree well with experimental data. They are close to those obtained with Skyrme forces and with the relativistic mean field approach.
Octupole deformed shapes in neutron-rich actinides and superheavy nuclei as well as extremely deformed shapes of the N~Z light nuclei have been investigated within the framework of covariant density functional theory. We confirmed the presence of new region of octupole deformation in neutron-rich actinides with the center around Z~96, N~196 but our calculations do not predict octupole deformation in the ground states of superheavy Z~108 nuclei. As exemplified by the study of 36Ar, the nodal structure of the wavefunction of occupied single-particle orbitals in extremely deformed structures allo…
A review is given of attempts to describe nuclear properties in terms of neutron--proton pairs that are subsequently replaced by bosons. Some of the standard approaches with low-spin pairs are recalled but the emphasis is on a recently proposed framework with pairs of neutrons and protons with aligned angular momentum. The analysis is carried out for general $j$ and applied to $N=Z$ nuclei in the $1f_{7/2}$ and $1g_{9/2}$ shells.
Recently, it has been reported that as one goes from oxygen to fluorine, just the addition of one more proton, provides extraordinary stability to fluorine which can bind six more neutrons beyond what oxygen can. It is shown here that this surprising stability can be understood if neutron rich nuclei, $^{24}O$ and $^{27}F$ are treated as bound states of eight and nine-tritons respectively. Also the recently discovered $^{42}Si$ is predicted to have a bound state structure of fourteen tritons.
