We study a family of equations of state for hybrid neutron star matter. The hybrid EOS are obtained by a Maxwell construction of the first-order phase transition between a hadronic phase described by the relativistic density-functional EOS of the "DD2" class with excluded volume effects and a deconfined quark matter phase modeled by an instantaneous nonlocal version of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in SU(2)$_f$ with vector interactions and color superconductivity. The form factor in the nonlocal quark matter model is fitted to lattice QCD results in the Coulomb gauge. Owing to strong coupling in the vector meson and diquark channels, a coexistence phase of color superconductivity and chiral symmetry breaking occurs. Our results show an approximately constant behavior for the squared speed of sound with values of 0.4 - 0.6 in the density region relevant for neutron star interiors. To simultaneously fulfill the constraints from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer radius measurement for PSR J0740+6620 and tidal deformability from GW170817 it is necessary to consider a $μ$-dependent bag pressure that mimics confinement.
I show that it does not seem possible to change modern nuclear Hamiltonians to bind a tetraneutron without destroying many other successful predictions of those Hamiltonians. This means that, should a recent experimental claim of a bound tetraneutron be confirmed, our understanding of nuclear forces will have to be significantly changed. I also point out some errors in previous theoretical studies of this problem.
The lowest order constrained variational method is applied to calculate the polarized symmetrical nuclear matter properties with the modern $AV_{18}$ potential performing microscopic calculations. Results based on the consideration of magnetic properties show no sign of phase transition to a ferromagnetic phase.
We present new calculations of the $α$-particle which are based on the most modern nucleon-nucleon interactions alone and combined with the Tucson-Melbourne or the Urbana IX three-nucleon interaction. Results for the binding energies and some properties of the wavefunction are given. On that phenomenological level little room is left for the action of a possible four-nucleon force.
The nd doublet and quartet scattering lengths have been calculated based on the modern NN and 3N interactions. We also studied the effect of the electromagnetic interactions in the form introduced in AV18. Switching them off for the various nuclear force models leads to shifts of up to +0.04 fm for doublet scattering length, which is significant for present day standards. The electromagnetic effects have also a noticeable effect on quartet scattering length, which otherwise is extremely stable under the exchange of the nuclear forces. For the current nuclear force models there is a strong scat…
Over the past five years there have been profound advances in nuclear physics based on effective field theory and the renormalization group. In this brief, we summarize these advances and discuss how they impact our understanding of nuclear systems and experiments that seek to unravel their unknowns. We discuss future opportunities and focus on modern topics in low-energy nuclear physics, with special attention to the strong connections to many-body atomic and condensed matter physics, as well as to astrophysics. This makes it an exciting era for nuclear physics.
Nuclear forces can be systematically derived using effective chiral Lagrangians consistent with the symmetries of QCD. I review the status of the calculations for two- and three-nucleon forces and their applications in few-nucleon systems. I also address issues like the quark mass dependence of the nuclear forces and resonance saturation for four-nucleon operators.
Microscopic descriptions of exotic nuclei are the subject of much experimental and theoretical effort. Not only are such important in their own right but are also necessary for applications in nuclear astrophysics. Evaluations of model wave functions may be done with analyses of elastic and inelastic scattering from hydrogen. Those require a realistic model of nucleon-nucleus scattering as scattering from hydrogen translates to proton scattering in the inverse kinematics. The Melbourne g-folding model for intermediate energy is presented along with various examples. Implications for existing a…
We develop a Bayesian analysis method for selecting the most probable equation of state under a set of constraints from compact star physics, which now include the tidal deformability from GW170817. We apply this method for the first time to a two-parameter family of hybrid equations of state that is based on realistic models for the hadronic phase (KVORcut02) and the quark matter phase (SFM$α$) which produce a third family of hybrid stars in the mass-radius diagram. One parameter ($α$) characterizes the screening of the string tension in the string-flip model of quark matter while the other (…
The Faddeev-Yakubovsky equations for the alpha-particle are solved. Accurate results are obtained for several modern NN interaction models, which include charge-symmetry breaking effects in the NN force, nucleon mass dependences as well as the Coulomb interaction. These models are augmented by three-nucleon forces of different types and adjusted to the 3N binding energy. Our results are close to the experimental binding energy with a slight overbinding. Thus there is only little room left for the contribution of possible 4N interactions to the alpha-particle binding energy. We also discuss mod…
Relativistic mean-field models of nuclear structure have been enormously successful at reproducing ground-state properties of finite nuclei throughout the periodic table using a handful of accurately calibrated parameters. In this contribution we use powerful theoretical, experimental, and observational constraints -- not employed in the calibration procedure -- to validate two such models: NL3 and FSUGold. It is observed that FSUGold is consistent with all these constraints, except perhaps for a high density equation of state that appears mildly softer than required by astronomical observatio…
We study ground-state properties of the doubly magic nuclei 4He, 16O, and 40Ca employing the Goldstone expansion and using as input four different high-quality nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials. The short-range repulsion of these potentials is renormalized by constructing a smooth low-momentum potential V-low-k. This is used directly in a Hartree-Fock approach and corrections up to third order in the Goldstone expansion are evaluated. Comparison of the results shows that they are only slightly dependent on the choice of the NN potential.
Multi-messenger observations of neutron star (NS) mergers have the potential to revolutionize nuclear astrophysics. They will improve our understanding of nucleosynthesis, provide insights about the equation of state (EOS) of strongly-interacting matter at high densities, and enable tests of the theory of gravity and of dark matter. Here, we focus on the EOS, where both gravitational waves (GWs) from neutron-star mergers and X-ray observations from space-based detectors such as NICER will provide more stringent constraints on the structure of neutron stars. Furthermore, recent advances in nucl…
Effective field theory allows for a systematic and model-independent derivation of the forces between nucleons in harmony with the symmetries of Quantum Chromodynamics. We review the foundations of this approach and discuss its application for light nuclei at various resolution scales. The extension of this approach to many-body systems is briefly sketched.
Understanding an important class of experiments requires that light-front dynamics and related light cone variables k^+ and k_perp be used. If one uses k^+ as a momentum variable, the corresponding canonical spatial variable is x^-=x^0-x^3 and the time variable is x^0+x^3. This is the light front (LF) approach of Dirac. A relativistic light front formulation of nuclear dynamics is developed and applied to treating infinite nuclear matter in a method which includes the corelations of pairs of nculeons. This is light front Brueckner theory.
Gravitational waves from neutron-star mergers are expected to provide stringent constraints on the structure of neutron stars. At the same time, recent advances in nuclear theory have enabled reliable calculations of the low density equation of state using effective field theory based Hamiltonians and advanced techniques to solve the quantum many-body problem. In this paper, we address how the first observation of gravitational waves from GW170817 can be combined with modern calculations of the equation of state to extract useful insights about the equation of state of matter encountered insid…
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) …
It is shown that the neutron matter interacting through Argonne V18 pair-potential plus modern variants of Urbana or Illinois three-body forces is unstable. For the energy of $N$ neutrons $E(N)$, which interact through these forces, we prove mathematically that $E(N) = -cN^3 + \mathcal{O}(N^{8/3})$, where $c>0$ is a constant. This means that: (i) the energy per particle and neutron density diverge rapidly for large neutron numbers; (ii) bound states of $N$ neutrons exist for $N$ large enough. The neutron matter collapse is possible due to the form of the repulsive core in three-body forces, wh…
Realistic nuclear potentials, derived within chiral perturbation theory, are a major breakthrough in modern nuclear structure theory, since they provide a direct link between nuclear physics and its underlying theory, namely the QCD. As a matter of fact, chiral potentials are tailored on the low-energy regime of nuclear structure physics, and chiral perturbation theory provides on the same footing two-nucleon forces as well as many-body ones. This feature fits well with modern advances in ab-initio methods and realistic shell-model. Here, we will review recent nuclear structure calculations, b…
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.
A multi-phase transport (AMPT) model has been successful in explaining a wide range of observables in relativistic heavy ion collisions. In this work, we implement a modern set of free proton parton distribution functions and an impact parameter-dependent nuclear shadowing in the AMPT model. After refitting the parameters of the two-component initial condition model to the experimental data on $pp$ and $p \bar p$ total and inelastic cross sections from $\sqrt s \sim $ 4 GeV to 13 TeV, we study particle productions in $pp$ and $AA$ collisions. We show that the updated AMPT model with string mel…
The properties of warm symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter are investigated in the frame of the Thomas-Fermi approximation using a recent modern parametrization of the effective nucleon-nucleon interaction of Myers and Swiatecki. Special attention is paid to the liquid-gas phase transition, which is of special interest in modern nuclear physics. We have determined the critical temperature, critical density and the so-called flash temperature. Furthermore the equation of state for cold neutron star matter was calculated.
Coulomb displacement energies, i.e., the differences between the energies of corresponding nuclear states in mirror nuclei, are evaluated using recent models for the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction. These modern NN potentials account for breaking of isospin symmetry and reproduce $pp$ and $pn$ phase shifts accurately. The predictions by these new potentials for the binding of $^{16}O$ are calculated. A particular focus of our study are effects due to nuclear correlations and charge-symmetry breaking (CSB). We find that the CSB terms in the modern NN interactions substantially reduce the discr…
Diagrammatic ab initio methods for infinite nuclear matter with modern chiral interactions
Institut für Kernphysik and PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz（美因茨约翰内斯·古腾堡大学核物理研究所及PRISMA+卓越集群）；Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität（美因茨理论物理研究所，美因茨约翰内斯·古腾堡大学）；Department of Physics, Washington University in Saint Louis（圣路易斯华盛顿大学物理系）
We perform coupled-cluster calculations for the doubly magic nuclei 4He, 16O, 40Ca and 48Ca, for neutron-rich isotopes of oxygen and fluorine, and employ "bare" and secondary renormalized nucleon-nucleon interactions. For the nucleon-nucleon interaction from chiral effective field theory at order next-to-next-to-next-to leading order, we find that the coupled-cluster approximation including triples corrections binds nuclei within 0.4 MeV per nucleon compared to data. We employ interactions from a resolution-scale dependent similarity renormalization group transformations and assess the validit…
Neutron star structure and nuclear matter properties from a general Walecka-type model with Bayesian analysis
School of Frontier Sciences, Nanjing University（前沿科学学院，南京大学）；School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS（基础物理与数学学院，杭州高等研究院，中国科学院大学）
This paper is a write-up of introductory lectures on the modern approach to the nuclear force problem based on chiral effective field theory given at the 2009 Joliot-Curie School, Lacanau, France, 27 September - 3 October 2009.
Neutron stars are valuable laboratories for the study of dense matter. Recent observations have uncovered both massive and low-mass neutron stars and have also set constraints on neutron star radii. The largest mass measurements are powerfully influencing the high-density equation of state because of the existence of the neutron star maximum mass. The smallest mass measurements, and the distributions of masses, have implications for the progenitors and formation mechanisms of neutron stars. The ensemble of mass and radius observations can realistically restrict the properties of dense matter, …
One of the most significant challenges involved in efforts to understand the equation of state of dense neutron-rich matter is the uncertain density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy. Because of its broad impact, pinning down the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy has been a longstanding goal of both nuclear physics and astrophysics. Recent observations of neutron stars, in both electromagnetic and gravitational-wave spectra, have already constrained significantly the nuclear symmetry energy at high densities. Training deep neural networks to learn a computationally effi…
This chapter presents an overview of the optical model description of nucleon-nucleus scattering and reactions based on fundamental nuclear two-body and many-body forces. The chapter begins with a historical review followed by a discussion of several commonly used theoretical techniques for deriving nucleon-nucleus optical model potentials that account for antisymmetry, Pauli blocking, and multiple scattering. This is followed by a summary of current efforts to derive microscopic nuclear forces consistent with the fundamental theory of strong interactions, quantum chromodynamics, and the use o…
Set of neutron star observational results is used to test some selected equations of state of dense nuclear matter. The first observational result comes from the mass--baryon number relation for pulsar B of the double pulsar system J 0737--3039. The second one is based on the mass--radius relation coming from observation of the thermal radiation of the neutron star RX J 1856.35--3754. The third one follows the population analysis of isolated neutron star thermal radiation sources. The last one is the test of maximum mass. The equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter is given by the param…
We show how observations of gravitational waves from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers over the next few years can be combined with insights from nuclear physics to obtain useful constraints on the equation of state (EoS) of dense matter, in particular, constraining the neutron-matter EoS to within 20% between one and two times the nuclear saturation density $n_0\approx 0.16\ {\text{fm}^{-3}}$. Using Fisher information methods, we combine observational constraints from simulated BNS merger events drawn from various population models with independent measurements of the neutron star radii expec…
The energy per particle, symmetry energy, pressure, Free energy are calculated for asymmetric nuclear matter using BHF approach and modern nucleon-nucleon CD-Bonn, Nijm1, Argonnev18 and Reid93 potentials. To obtain saturation in nuclear matter we add three-body interaction terms which are equivalent a la Skyrme to a density-dependent two-nucleon interaction. Good agreement is obtained in comparison with previous theoretical estimates and experimental data.
In the present work we are going to add a correction to the BHF potential calculation by introducing a two- body density dependent potential that acts as a three body interaction. Adding the result of this potential to the BHF potential would give us new saturation curves which coincide with the results obtained from the experiment. We compute the energy per particle versus density curves for symmetric nuclear matter, pure neutron matter and the symmetry energy using modern nucleon nucleon potentials like CD Bonn.
Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations are performed for nuclear matter with an exact treatment of the Pauli exclusion operator in the Bethe-Goldstone equation. The differences in the calculated binding energy, compared to the angle-average approximation, which is commonly used, are non-negligible. These difference exhibits a specific density dependence, which shifts the calculated saturation point towards smaller densities. This effect is observed for various versions of modern models for the NN interaction.
The multifaceted role of the density dependent nuclear symmetry energy in the nuclear astrophysics involving neutron stars is highlighted. Efforts toward a model independent determination of the dense matter equation state through a deconstruction of the neutron star structure equation utilizing the masses and radii of several individual neutron stars are described. The need for observational data of both measurements for the same star is stressed.
The critical properties for the transition to warm, asymmetric, non-homogeneous nuclear matter are analysed within a thermodynamical spinodal approach for a set of well calibrated equations of state. It is shown that even though different equations of state are constrained by the same experimental, theoretical and observational data, and the properties of symmetric nuclear matter are similar within the models, the properties of very asymmetric nuclear matter, such as the one found inside of neutron stars, differ a lot for various models. Some models predict larger transition densities to homog…
A hybrid equation of state for dense matter is presented that satisfies phenomenological constraints from modern compact star observations which indicate high maximum masses of about 2 M_sun and large radii of R> 12 km. The corresponding isospin symmetric equation of state is consistent with flow data analyses of heavy-ion collisions. The transition from nuclear to two-flavor color superconducting quark matter at n approximately 0.55 fm^{-3} is almost a crossover.
A remarkable fact about spherically-symmetric neutron stars in hydrostatic equilibrium - the so-called Schwarzschild stars - is that the only physics that they are sensitive to is the equation of state of neutron-rich matter. As such, neutron stars provide a myriad of observables that may be used to constrain poorly known aspects of the nuclear interaction under extreme conditions of density. After discussing many of the fascinating phases encountered in neutron stars, I will address how powerful theoretical, experimental, and observational constraints may be used to place stringent limits on …
We present new equations of state for applications in core-collapse supernova and neutron star merger simulations. We start by introducing an effective mass parametrization that is fit to recent microscopic calculations up to twice saturation density. This is important to capture the predicted thermal effects, which have been shown to determine the proto-neutron star contraction in supernova simulations. The parameter range of the energy-density functional underlying the equation of state is constrained by chiral effective field theory results at nuclear densities as well as by functional reno…
The $^1S_0$ pairing in neutron matter has been investigated in presence of realistic two-- and three--nucleon interactions. We have adopted the Argonne $v_{8^\prime}$ NN and the Urbana IX 3N potentials. Quantum Monte Carlo theory, specifically the Auxiliary Field Diffusion Monte Carlo method, and Correlated Basis Function theory are employed in order to get quantitative and reliable estimates of the gap. They both fully take into account the medium modifications due to the interaction induced correlations. The two methods are in good agreement up to the maximum gap density and both point to a …
Equation of state of dense nuclear matter is explored in the KIDS density functional theory. Parameters of the equation of state which are coefficients of the energy density expanded in powers of $(ρ- ρ_0)/3ρ_0$ where $ρ$ is the nuclear matter density and $ρ_0$ is its density at saturation are constrained by using both nuclear data and the mass-radius relation of the neutron star determined from the modern astronomy. We find that the combination of both data can reduce the uncertainty in the equation of state parameters significantly. We confirm that the newly constrained parameters reproduce …
Modern nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials, which accurately fit the nucleon-nucleon scattering phase shifts, contain terms which break isospin symmetry. The effects of these symmetry violating terms on the bulk properties of nuclear matter are investigated. The predictions of the charge symmetry breaking (CSB) terms are compared with the Nolen-Schiffer (NS) anomaly regarding the energies of neighboring mirror nuclei. We find that, for a quantitative explanation of the NS anomaly, it is crucial to include CSB in partial waves with $L>0$ (besides $^1S_0$) as derived from a microscopic model for CSB…
The tidal deformability probability distribution extracted from GW170817 alone, or including multi-messenger information, is confronted to astrophysical and nuclear physics additional constraints within a semi-agnostic approach for the dense matter equation of state. We use Bayesian statistics to combine together low density nuclear physics data, such as the ab-initio predictions based on $χ$EFT interactions or the isoscalar giant monopole resonance, and astrophysical constraints from neutron stars, such as the maximum mass of neutron stars or the probability density function of the tidal defo…
We critically examine nuclear matter and neutron matter equation of state (EoS) parameters by using best available terrestrial experimental results. The nuclear incompression modulus $K_{\infty}$ is re-examined in comparisons with RPA results of modern relativistic and non-relativistic EDF and up-to-date experimental data of isoscalar giant monopole resonance energy of $^{208}$Pb. The symmetry energy expansion coefficients $J$, $L$ and $K_{sym}$ are examined by recent FRDM mass model and the neutron skin of $^{48}$Ca extracted from $(p,p')$ experiments.
We present results for the $^3P_2 - ^3F_2$ pairing gap in neutron matter with several realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials, in particular with recent, phase-shift equivalent potentials. We find that their predictions for the gap cannot be trusted at densities above $ρ\approx 1.7ρ_0$, where $ρ_0$ is the saturation density for symmetric nuclear matter. In order to make predictions above that density, potential models which fit the nucleon-nucleon phase shifts up to about 1 GeV are required.
We study the energy per particle of symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter using realistic nucleon--nucleon potentials having non central tensor and spin--orbit components, up to three times the empirical nuclear matter saturation density, $ρ_0=0.16$ fm$^{-3}$. The calculations are carried out within the frameworks of the Brueckner--Bethe--Goldstone (BBG) and Correlated Basis Functions (CBF) formalisms, in order to ascertain the accuracy of the methods. The two hole--line approximation, with the continuous choice for the single particle auxiliary potential, is adopted for the BBG app…
The properties of the outer crust of non-accreting cold neutron stars are studied by using modern nuclear data and theoretical mass tables updating in particular the classic work of Baym, Pethick and Sutherland. Experimental data from the atomic mass table from Audi, Wapstra, and Thibault of 2003 is used and a thorough comparison of many modern theoretical nuclear models, relativistic and non-relativistic ones, is performed for the first time. In addition, the influences of pairing and deformation are investigated. State-of-the-art theoretical nuclear mass tables are compared in order to check…
We study the symmetry energy in infinite nuclear matter employing a non-relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach and using various new nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials, which fit np and pp scattering data very accurately. The potential models we employ are the recent versions of the Nijmegen group, Nijm-I, Nijm-II and Reid93, the Argonne $V_{18}$ potential and the CD-Bonn potential. All these potentials yield a symmetry energy which increases with density, resolving a discrepancy that existed for older NN potentials. The origin of remaining differences is discussed.
We discuss the relativistic nuclear equation of state (EOS) using a relativistic transport model in heavy-ion collisions. From the baryon flow for $Au + Au$ systems at SIS to AGS energies and above we find that the strength of the vector potential has to be reduced moderately at high density or at high relative momenta to describe the flow data at 1-10 A GeV. We use the same dynamical model to calculate the nuclear EOS and then employ this to calculate the gross structure of the neutron star considering the core to be composed of neutrons with an admixture of protons, electrons, muons, sigmas …
Despite the success of modern nuclear parton distribution functions (nPDFs) in describing nuclear hard-process data, they still suffer from large uncertainties. One of the poorly constrained features is the possible asymmetry in nuclear modifications of valence $u$ and $d$ quarks. We study the possibility of using pion-nucleus Drell-Yan dilepton data as a new constraint in the global analysis of nPDFs. We find that the nuclear cross-section ratios from the NA3, NA10 and E615 experiments can be used without imposing significant new theoretical uncertainties and, in particular, that these datase…
A central issue in the theory of astrophysical compact objects and heavy ion reactions at intermediate and relativistic energies is the Nuclear Equation of State (EoS). On one hand, the large and expanding set of experimental and observational data is expected to constrain the behaviour of the nuclear EoS, especially at density above saturation, where it is directly linked to fundamental processes which can occur in dense matter. On the other hand, theoretical predictions for the EoS at high density can be challenged by the phenomenological findings. In this topical review paper we present the…
Born in the aftermath of core collapse supernovae, neutron stars contain matter under extraordinary conditions of density and temperature that are difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. In recent years, neutron star observations have begun to yield novel insights into the nature of strongly interacting matter in the high-density regime where current theoretical models are challenged. At the same time, chiral effective field theory has developed into a powerful framework to study nuclear matter properties with quantified uncertainties in the moderate-density regime for modeling neutron stars…
