210 research outputs found
Color-Neutral Superconducting Quark Matter
We investigate the consequences of enforcing local color neutrality on the
color superconducting phases of quark matter by utilizing the
Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model supplemented by diquark and the t'Hooft six-fermion
interactions. In neutrino free matter at zero temperature, color neutrality
guarantees that the number densities of u, d, and s quarks in the
Color-Flavor-Locked (CFL) phase will be equal even with physical current quark
masses. Electric charge neutrality follows as a consequence and without the
presence of electrons. In contrast, electric charge neutrality in the less
symmetric 2-flavor superconducting (2SC) phase with ud pairing requires more
electrons than the normal quark phase. The free energy density cost of
enforcing color and electric charge neutrality in the CFL phase is lower than
that in the 2SC phase, which favors the formation of the CFL phase. With
increasing temperature and neutrino content, an unlocking transition occurs
from the CFL phase to the 2SC phase with the order of the transition depending
on the temperature, the quark and lepton number chemical potentials. The
astrophysical implications of this rich structure in the phase diagram,
including estimates of the effects from Goldstone bosons in the CFL phase, are
discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Mass-Induced Crystalline Color Superconductivity
We demonstrate that crystalline color superconductivity may arise as a result
of pairing between massless quarks and quarks with nonzero mass m_s. Previous
analyses of this phase of cold dense quark matter have all utilized a chemical
potential difference \delta\mu to favor crystalline color superconductivity
over ordinary BCS pairing. In any context in which crystalline color
superconductivity occurs in nature, however, it will be m_s-induced. The effect
of m_s is qualitatively different from that of \delta\mu in one crucial
respect: m_s depresses the value of the BCS gap \Delta_0 whereas \delta\mu
leaves \Delta_0 unchanged. This effect in the BCS phase must be taken into
account before m_s-induced and \delta\mu-induced crystalline color
superconductivity can sensibly be compared.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. v2: very small change onl
Breaking rotational symmetry in two-flavor color superconductors
The color superconductivity under flavor asymmetric conditions relevant to
the compact star phenomenology is studied within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.
We focus on the effect of the deformation of the Fermi surfaces on the pairing
properties and the energy budget of the superconducting state. We find that at
finite flavor asymmetries the color superconducting BCS state is unstable
towards spontaneous quadrupole deformation of the Fermi surfaces of the and
quarks into ellipsoidal form. The ground state of the phase with deformed
Fermi surfaces corresponds to a superposition of prolate and oblate deformed
Fermi ellipsoids of and quarks.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Parameter changes, references added, conclusions
unchange
Strange Stars with a Density-Dependent Bag Parameter
We have studied strange quark stars in the framework of the MIT bag model,
allowing the bag parameter B to depend on the density of the medium. We have
also studied the effect of Cooper pairing among quarks, on the stellar
structure. Comparison of these two effects shows that the former is generally
more significant. We studied the resulting equation of state of the quark
matter, stellar mass-radius relation, mass-central-density relation,
radius-central-density relation, and the variation of the density as a function
of the distance from the centre of the star. We found that the
density-dependent B allows stars with larger masses and radii, due to
stiffening of the equation of state. Interestingly, certain stellar
configurations are found to be possible only if B depends on the density. We
have also studied the effect of variation of the superconducting gap parameter
on our results.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figs; v2: 25 pages, 9 figs, version to be published in
Phys. Rev. (D
Angular Momentum Mixing in Crystalline Color Superconductivity
In crystalline color superconductivity, quark pairs form at non-zero total
momentum. This crystalline order potentially enlarges the domain of color
superconductivity in cold dense quark matter. We present a perturbative
calculation of the parameters governing the crystalline phase and show that
this is indeed the case. Nevertheless, the enhancement is modest, and to lowest
order is independent of the strength of the color interaction.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, Revte
Numerical Portrait of a Relativistic BCS Gapped Superfluid
We present results of numerical simulations of the 3+1 dimensional Nambu -
Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model with a non-zero baryon density enforced via the
introduction of a chemical potential mu not equal to 0. The triviality of the
model with a number of dimensions d>=4 is dealt with by fitting low energy
constants, calculated analytically in the large number of colors (Hartree)
limit, to phenomenological values. Non-perturbative measurements of local order
parameters for superfluidity and their related susceptibilities show that, in
contrast to the 2+1 dimensional model, the ground-state at high chemical
potential and low temperature is that of a traditional BCS superfluid. This
conclusion is supported by the direct observation of a gap in the dispersion
relation for 0.5<=(mu a)<=0.85, which at (mu a)=0.8 is found to be roughly 15%
the size of the vacuum fermion mass. We also present results of an initial
investigation of the stability of the BCS phase against thermal fluctuations.
Finally, we discuss the effect of splitting the Fermi surfaces of the pairing
partners by the introduction of a non-zero isospin chemical potential.Comment: 41 pages, 19 figures, uses axodraw.sty, v2: minor typographical
correction
A new window on Strange Quark Matter as the ground state of strongly interacting matter
If strange quark matter is the true ground state of matter, it must have
lower energy than nuclear matter. Simultaneously, two-flavour quark matter must
have higher energy than nuclear matter, for otherwise the latter would convert
to the former. We show, using an effective chiral lagrangian, that the
existence of a new lower energy ground state for two-flavour quark matter, the
pion condensate, shrinks the window for strange quark matter to be the ground
state of matter and sets new limits on the current strange quark mass
Effects of color superconductivity on the structure and formation of compact stars
We show that if color superconducting quark matter forms in hybrid or quark
stars it is possible to satisfy most of recent observational boundaries on
masses and radii of compact stellar objects. An energy of the order of
erg is released in the conversion from a (metastable) hadronic star
into a (stable) hybrid or quark star in presence of a color superconducting
phase. If the conversion occurs immediately after the deleptonization of the
proto-neutron star, the released energy can help Supernovae to explode. If the
conversion is delayed the energy released can power a Gamma Ray Burst. A delay
between the Supernova and the subsequent Gamma Ray Burst is possible, in
agreement with the delay proposed in recent analysis of astrophysical data.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To be published in Phys.Rev.
The Crystallography of Color Superconductivity
We develop the Ginzburg-Landau approach to comparing different possible
crystal structures for the crystalline color superconducting phase of QCD, the
QCD incarnation of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase. In this phase,
quarks of different flavor with differing Fermi momenta form Cooper pairs with
nonzero total momentum, yielding a condensate that varies in space like a sum
of plane waves. We work at zero temperature, as is relevant for compact star
physics. The Ginzburg-Landau approach predicts a strong first-order phase
transition (as a function of the chemical potential difference between quarks)
and for this reason is not under quantitative control. Nevertheless, by
organizing the comparison between different possible arrangements of plane
waves (i.e. different crystal structures) it provides considerable qualitative
insight into what makes a crystal structure favorable. Together, the
qualitative insights and the quantitative, but not controlled, calculations
make a compelling case that the favored pairing pattern yields a condensate
which is a sum of eight plane waves forming a face-centered cubic structure.
They also predict that the phase is quite robust, with gaps comparable in
magnitude to the BCS gap that would form if the Fermi momenta were degenerate.
These predictions may be tested in ultracold gases made of fermionic atoms. In
a QCD context, our results lay the foundation for a calculation of vortex
pinning in a crystalline color superconductor, and thus for the analysis of
pulsar glitches that may originate within the core of a compact star.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl
Neutrino Emission from Goldstone Modes in Dense Quark Matter
We calculate neutrino emissivities from the decay and scattering of Goldstone
bosons in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase of quarks at high baryon density.
Interactions in the CFL phase are described by an effective low-energy theory.
For temperatures in the tens of keV range, relevant to the long-term cooling of
neutron stars, the emissivities involving Goldstone bosons dominate over those
involving quarks, because gaps in the CFL phase are MeV while the
masses of Goldstone modes are on the order of 10 MeV. For the same reason, the
specific heat of the CFL phase is also dominated by the Goldstone modes.
Notwithstanding this, both the emissivity and the specific heat from the
massive modes remain rather small, because of their extremely small number
densities. The values of the emissivity and the specific heat imply that the
timescale for the cooling of the CFL core in isolation is y,
which makes the CFL phase invisible as the exterior layers of normal matter
surrounding the core will continue to cool through significantly more rapid
processes. If the CFL phase appears during the evolution of a proto-neutron
star, neutrino interactions with Goldstone bosons are expected to be
significantly more important since temperatures are high enough (
MeV) to admit large number densities of Goldstone modes.Comment: 29 pages, no figures. slightly modified text, one new eqn. and new
refs. adde
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