13 research outputs found
Nuclear structure calculations for neutron-star crusts
The goal of this paper is to investigate properties of clusterized nuclear
matter which is believed to be present in crusts of neutron stars at subnuclear
densities. It is assumed that the whole system can be represented by the set of
Wigner-Seitz cells, each containing a nucleus and an electron background under
the condition of electroneutrality. The nuclear structure calculations are
performed within the relativistic mean-field model with the NL3
parametrization. The first set of calculations is performed assuming the
constant electron background. The evolution of neutron and proton density
distributions was systematically studied along isotopic chains until very
neutron-rich system beyond the neutron dripline. Then we have replaced the
uniform electron background with the realistic electron distributions, obtained
within the Thomas-Fermi approximation in a self-consistent way with the proton
distributions. Finally, we have investigated the evolution of the
-stability valley as well as neutron and proton driplines with the
electron density.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figure
Strong electric fields induced on a sharp stellar boundary
Due to a first order phase transition, a compact star may have a
discontinuous distribution of baryon as well as electric charge densities, as
e.g. at the surface of a strange quark star. The induced separation of positive
and negative charges may lead to generation of supercritical electric fields in
the vicinity of such a discontinuity. We study this effect within a
relativistic Thomas-Fermi approximation and demonstrate that the strength of
the electric field depends strongly on the degree of sharpness of the surface.
The influence of strong electric fields on the stability of compact stars is
discussed. It is demonstrated that stable configurations appear only when the
counter-pressure of degenerate fermions is taken into consideration.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure
The neutron and its role in cosmology and particle physics
Experiments with cold and ultracold neutrons have reached a level of
precision such that problems far beyond the scale of the present Standard Model
of particle physics become accessible to experimental investigation. Due to the
close links between particle physics and cosmology, these studies also permit a
deep look into the very first instances of our universe. First addressed in
this article, both in theory and experiment, is the problem of baryogenesis ...
The question how baryogenesis could have happened is open to experimental
tests, and it turns out that this problem can be curbed by the very stringent
limits on an electric dipole moment of the neutron, a quantity that also has
deep implications for particle physics. Then we discuss the recent spectacular
observation of neutron quantization in the earth's gravitational field and of
resonance transitions between such gravitational energy states. These
measurements, together with new evaluations of neutron scattering data, set new
constraints on deviations from Newton's gravitational law at the picometer
scale. Such deviations are predicted in modern theories with extra-dimensions
that propose unification of the Planck scale with the scale of the Standard
Model ... Another main topic is the weak-interaction parameters in various
fields of physics and astrophysics that must all be derived from measured
neutron decay data. Up to now, about 10 different neutron decay observables
have been measured, much more than needed in the electroweak Standard Model.
This allows various precise tests for new physics beyond the Standard Model,
competing with or surpassing similar tests at high-energy. The review ends with
a discussion of neutron and nuclear data required in the synthesis of the
elements during the "first three minutes" and later on in stellar
nucleosynthesis.Comment: 91 pages, 30 figures, accepted by Reviews of Modern Physic