Cold ideal equation of state for strongly magnetized neutron-star matter: effects on muon production and pion condensationn

Neutron stars with very strong surface magnetic fields have been suggested as the site for the origin of observed soft gamma repeaters (SGRs). In this paper we investigate the influence of such strong magnetic fields on the properties and internal structure of these magnetized neutron stars (magnetars). We study properties of a degenerate equilibrium ideal neutron-proton-electron (npe) gas with and without the effects of the anomalous nucleon magnetic moments in a magnetic field. The presence of a sufficiently strong magnetic field changes the ratio of protons to neutrons as well as the neutron drip density. We also study the appearance of muons as well as pion condensation in strong magnetic fields. We discuss the possibility that boson condensation in the interior of magnetars might be a source of SGRs.Comment: 10 pages included 9 figures, ApJ in pres

Pseudoscalar Mesons in Nuclear Medium

The behavior of pseudoscalar mesons in nuclear medium is reviewed with an emphasis on the possibility of their Bose-Einstein condensation in dense matter. In particular pion condensation is reexamined in detail, stimulated by recent theoretical and observational developments.Comment: Invited talk at the Workshop "MEDIUM02", Kyushu, Oct.25 - 26, 200

Medium Effects in Cooling of Neutron Stars and 3P23P_2 Neutron Gap

We study the dependence of the cooling of isolated neutron stars on the magnitude of the $3P_2$ neutron gap. It is demonstrated that our ``nuclear medium cooling'' scenario is in favor of a suppressed value of the $3P_2$ neutron gap.Comment: 18 p., 12 figs., extended version of astro-ph/0501678, accepted in A&

Nonequilibrium Weak Processes in Kaon Condensation II - Kinetics of condensation ---

The kinetics of negatively charged kaon condensation in the early stages of a newly born neutron star is considered. The thermal kaon process, in which kaons are thermally produced by nucleon-nucleon collisions, is found to be dominant throughout the equilibration process. Temporal changes of the order parameter of the condensate and the number densities of the chemical species are obtained from the rate equations, which include the thermal kaon reactions as well as the kaon-induced Urca and the modified Urca reactions. It is shown that the dynamical evolution of the condensate is characterized by three stages: the first, prior to establishment of a condensate, the second, during the growth and subsequent saturation of the condensate, and the third, near chemical equilibrium. The connection between the existence of a soft kaon mode and the instability of the noncondensed state is discussed. Implications of the nonequilibrium process on the possible delayed collapse of a protoneutron star are also mentioned.Comment: 27 pages, incl. 8 eps figures, RevTe

Neutrino Opacities in Neutron Stars with Kaon Condensates

The neutrino mean free paths in hot neutron-star matter are obtained in the presence of kaon condensates. The kaon-induced neutrino absorption process, which is allowed only in the presence of kaon condensates, is considered for both nondegenerate and degenerate neutrinos. The neutrino mean free path due to this process is compared with that for the neutrino-nucleon scattering. While the mean free path for the kaon-induced neutrino absorption process is shown to be shorter than the ordinary two-nucleon absorption process by several orders of magnitude when temperature is not very high, the neutrino-nucleon scattering process has still a dominant contribution to the neutrino opacity. Thus, the kaon-induced neutrino absorption process has a minor effect on the thermal and dynamical evolution of protoneutron stars.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figure

Nuclear and High-Energy Astrophysics

There has never been a more exciting time in the overlapping areas of nuclear physics, particle physics and relativistic astrophysics than today. Orbiting observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), Chandra X-ray satellite, and the X-ray Multi Mirror Mission (XMM) have extended our vision tremendously, allowing us to see vistas with an unprecedented clarity and angular resolution that previously were only imagined, enabling astrophysicists for the first time ever to perform detailed studies of large samples of galactic and extragalactic objects. On the Earth, radio telescopes (e.g., Arecibo, Green Bank, Parkes, VLA) and instruments using adaptive optics and other revolutionary techniques have exceeded previous expectations of what can be accomplished from the ground. The gravitational wave detectors LIGO, LISA VIRGO, and Geo-600 are opening up a window for the detection of gravitational waves emitted from compact stellar objects such as neutron stars and black holes. Together with new experimental forefront facilities like ISAC, ORLaND and RIA, these detectors provide direct, quantitative physical insight into nucleosynthesis, supernova dynamics, accreting compact objects, cosmic-ray acceleration, and pair-production in high energy sources which reinforce the urgent need for a strong and continuous feedback from nuclear and particle theory and theoretical astrophysics. In my lectures, I shall concentrate on three selected topics, which range from the behavior of superdense stellar matter, to general relativistic stellar models, to strange quark stars and possible signals of quark matter in neutron stars.Comment: 52 pages, 43 figures; to appear in the Proceedings of the VIII International Workshop on Hadron Physics, April 14-19, 2002, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazi

On the Cooling of the Neutron Star in Cassiopeia A

We demonstrate that the high-quality cooling data observed for the young neutron star in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A over the past 10 years--as well as all other reliably known temperature data of neutron stars--can be comfortably explained within the "nuclear medium cooling" scenario. The cooling rates of this scenario account for medium-modified one-pion exchange in dense matter and polarization effects in the pair-breaking formations of superfluid neutrons and protons. Crucial for the successful description of the observed data is a substantial reduction of the thermal conductivity, resulting from a suppression of both the electron and nucleon contributions to it by medium effects. We also find that possibly in as little as about ten years of continued observation, the data may tell whether or not fast cooling processes are active in this neutron star.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure