Correlations in Nuclear Matter

We analyze the nuclear matter correlation properties in terms of the pair correlation function. To this aim we systematically compare the results for the variational method in the Lowest Order Constrained Variational (LOCV) approximation and for the Bruekner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) scheme. A formal link between the Jastrow correlation factor of LOCV and the Defect Function (DF) of BHF is established and it is shown under which conditions and approximations the two approaches are equivalent. From the numerical comparison it turns out that the two correlation functions are quite close, which indicates in particular that the DF is approximately local and momentum independent. The Equations of State (EOS) of Nuclear Matter in the two approaches are also compared. It is found that once the three-body forces (TBF) are introduced the two EOS are fairly close, while the agreement between the correlation functions holds with or without TBF.Comment: 11 figure

Structure of hybrid protoneutron stars within the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model

We investigate the structure of protoneutron stars (PNS) formed by hadronic and quark matter in $\beta$-equilibrium described by appropriate equations of state (EOS). For the hadronic matter, we use a finite temperature EOS based on the Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone many-body theory, with realistic two- and three-body forces. For the quark sector, we employ the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. We find that the maximum allowed masses are comprised in a narrow range around 1.8 solar masses, with a slight dependence on the temperature. Metastable hybrid protoneutron stars are not found.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, revised version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Hybrid neutron stars within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and confinement

Recently, it has been shown that the standard Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model is not able to reproduce the correct QCD behavior of the gap equation at large density, and therefore a different cutoff procedure at large momenta has ben proposed. We found that, even with this density dependent cutoff procedure, the pure quark phase in neutron stars (NS) interiors is unstable, and we argue that this could be related to the lack of confinement in the original NJL model.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to be published in the proceedings of the conference EXOCT07, Catania, 11-15 June, 200

Relativistic Approach to Superfluidity in Nuclear Matter

Pairing correlations in symmetric nuclear matter are studied within a relativistic mean-field approximation based on a field theory of nucleons coupled to neutral ($\sigma$ and $\omega$) and to charged ($\varrho$) mesons. The Hartree-Fock and the pairing fields are calculated in a self-consistent way. The energy gap is the result of a strong cancellation between the scalar and vector components of the pairing field. We find that the pair amplitude vanishes beyond a certain value of momentum of the paired nucleons. This fact determines an effective cutoff in the gap equation. The value of this cutoff gives an energy gap in agreement with the estimates of non relativistic calculations.Comment: 21 pages, REVTEX, 8 ps-figures, to appear in Phys.Rev.C. e-mail: [email protected]

Hadron-quark mixed phase in hyperon stars

We analyze the different possibilities for the hadron-quark phase transition occurring in beta-stable matter including hyperons in neutron stars. We use a Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach including hyperons for the hadronic equation of state and a generalized MIT bag model for the quark part. We then point out in detail the differences between Maxwell and Gibbs phase transition constructions including the effects of surface tension and electromagnetic screening. We find only a small influence on the maximum neutron star mass, whereas the radius of the star and in particular its internal structure are more affected.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Nonlocality effects on spin-one pairing patterns in two-flavor color superconducting quark matter and compact stars applications

We study the influence of nonlocality in the interaction on two spin one pairing patterns of two-flavor quark matter: the anisotropic blue color paring besides the usual two color superconducting matter (2SCb), in which red and green colors are paired, and the color spin locking phase (CSL). The effect of nonlocality on the gaps is rather large and the pairings exhibit a strong dependence on the form factor of the interaction, especially in the low density region. The application of these small spin-one condensates for compact stars is analyzed: the early onset of quark matter in the nonlocal models may help to stabilize hybrid star configurations. While the anisotropic blue quark pairing does not survive a big asymmetry in flavor space as imposed by the charge neutrality condition, the CSL phase as a flavor independent pairing can be realized as neutral matter in compact star cores. However, smooth form factors and the missmatch between the flavor chemical potential in neutral matter make the effective gaps of the order of magnitude $\simeq 10$ keV, and a more systematic analysis is needed to decide whether such small gaps could be consistent with the cooling phenomenology.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, corrected version with revised parameterizatio

Isospin and density dependences of nuclear matter symmetry energy coefficients II

Symmetry energy coefficients of explicitly isospin asymmetric nuclear matter at variable densities (from .5$\rho_0$ up to 2 $\rho_0$) are studied as generalized screening functions. An extended stability condition for asymmetric nuclear matter is proposed. We find the possibility of obtaining stable asymmetric nuclear matter even in some cases for which the symmetric nuclear matter limit is unstable. Skyrme-type forces are extensively used in analytical expressions of the symmetry energy coefficients derived as generalized screening functions in the four channels of the particle hole interaction producing alternative behaviors at different $\rho$ and $b$ (respectively the density and the asymmetry coefficient). The spin and spin-isospin coefficients, with corrections to the usual Landau Migdal parameters, indicate the possibility of occurring instabilities with common features depending on the nuclear density and n-p asymmetry. Possible relevance for high energy heavy ions collisions and astrophysical objects is discussed.Comment: 16 pages (latex) plus twelve figures in four eps files, to be published in I.J.M.P.