17 research outputs found
Bulk viscosity in superfluid neutron star cores. III. Effects of hyperons
Bulk viscosity of neutron star cores containing hyperons is studied taking
into account non-equilibrium weak process .
Rapid growth of the bulk viscosity within the neutron star core associated with
switching on new reactions (modified Urca process, direct Urca process, hyperon
reactions) is analyzed. The suppression of the bulk viscosity by superfluidity
of baryons is considered and found out to be very important.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, added reference, version accepted by Astron.
Astrophy
Bulk viscosity in superfluid neutron star cores. I. Direct Urca processes in npe\mu matter
The bulk viscosity of the neutron star matter due to the direct Urca
processes involving nucleons, electrons and muons is studied taking into
account possible superfluidity of nucleons in the neutron star cores. The cases
of singlet-state pairing or triplet-state pairing (without and with nodes of
the superfluid gap at the Fermi surface) of nucleons are considered. It is
shown that the superfluidity may strongly reduce the bulk viscosity. The
practical expressions for the superfluid reduction factors are obtained. For
illustration, the bulk viscosity is calculated for two models of dense matter
composed of neutrons, protons,electrons and muons. The presence of muons
affects the bulk viscosity due to the direct Urca reactions involving electrons
and produces additional comparable contribution due to the direct Urca
reactions involving muons. The results can be useful for studying damping of
vibrations of neutron stars with superfluid cores.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, latex, uses aa.cls, to be published in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
Adiabatic Index of Dense Matter and Damping of Neutron Star Pulsations
The adiabatic index Gamma_1 for perturbations of dense matter is studied under various physical conditions which can prevail in neutron star cores. The dependence of Gamma_1 on the composition of matter (in particular, on the presence of hyperons), on the stellar pulsation amplitude, and on the baryon superfluidity is analyzed. Timescales of damping of stellar pulsations are estimated at different compositions, temperatures, and pulsation amplitudes. Damping of pulsations by bulk viscosity in the neutron-star cores can prevent the stars to pulsate with relative amplitudes > (1-15)% (depending on the composition of matter)
Electron-muon heat conduction in neutron star cores via the exchange of transverse plasmons
We calculate the thermal conductivity of electrons and muons kappa_{e-mu}
produced owing to electromagnetic interactions of charged particles in neutron
star cores and show that these interactions are dominated by the exchange of
transverse plasmons (via the Landau damping of these plasmons in
nonsuperconducting matter and via a specific plasma screening in the presence
of proton superconductivity). For normal protons, the Landau damping strongly
reduces kappa_{e-mu} and makes it temperature independent. Proton
superconductivity suppresses the reduction and restores the Fermi-liquid
behavior kappa_{e-mu} ~ 1/T. Comparing with the thermal conductivity of
neutrons kappa_n, we obtain kappa_{e-mu}> kappa_n for T>2 GK in normal matter
and for any T in superconducting matter with proton critical temperatures
T_c>3e9 K. The results are described by simple analytic formulae.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Shear viscosity in neutron star cores
We calculate the shear viscosity in a neutron
star core composed of nucleons, electrons and muons ( being the
electron-muon viscosity, mediated by collisions of electrons and muons with
charged particles, and the neutron viscosity, mediated by
neutron-neutron and neutron-proton collisions). Deriving , we take
into account the Landau damping in collisions of electrons and muons with
charged particles via the exchange of transverse plasmons. It lowers
and leads to the non-standard temperature behavior
. The viscosity is calculated taking
into account that in-medium effects modify nucleon effective masses in dense
matter. Both viscosities, and , can be important, and
both are calculated including the effects of proton superfluidity. They are
presented in the form valid for any equation of state of nucleon dense matter.
We analyze the density and temperature dependence of for different
equations of state in neutron star cores, and compare with the bulk
viscosity in the core and with the shear viscosity in the crust.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, Phys. Rev. D., accepted. In v.2 typos and two
refs. correcte
Thermal state of transiently accreting neutron stars
We study thermal states of transiently accreting neutron stars (with mean
accretion rates M yr) determined
by the deep crustal heating of accreted matter sinking into stellar interiors.
We formalize a direct correspondence of this problem to the problem of cooling
neutron stars. Using a simple toy model we analyze the most important factors
which affect the thermal states of accreting stars: a strong superfluidity in
the cores of low-mass stars and a fast neutrino emission (in nucleon,
pion-condensed, kaon-condensed, or quark phases of dense matter) in the cores
of high-mass stars. We briefly compare the results with the observations of
soft X-ray transients in quiescence. If the upper limit on the quiescent
thermal luminosity of the neutron star in SAX J1808.4-3658 (Campana et al.
2002) is associated with the deep crustal heating, it favors the model of
nucleon neutron-star cores with switched-on direct Urca process.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, revised after the referee remarks, to appear in
A&
Bulk viscosity in kaon-condensed color-flavor locked quark matter
Color-flavor locked (CFL) quark matter at high densities is a color
superconductor, which spontaneously breaks baryon number and chiral symmetry.
Its low-energy thermodynamic and transport properties are therefore dominated
by the H (superfluid) boson, and the octet of pseudoscalar pseudo-Goldstone
bosons of which the neutral kaon is the lightest. We study the CFL-K^0 phase,
in which the stress induced by the strange quark mass causes the kaons to
condense, and there is an additional ultra-light "K^0" Goldstone boson arising
from the spontaneous breaking of isospin. We compute the bulk viscosity of
matter in the CFL-K^0 phase, which arises from the beta-equilibration processes
K^0H+H and K^0+HH. We find that the bulk viscosity varies as T^7, unlike
the CFL phase where it is exponentially Boltzmann-suppressed by the kaon's
energy gap. However, in the temperature range of relevance for r-mode damping
in compact stars, the bulk viscosity in the CFL-K^0 phase turns out to be even
smaller than in the uncondensed CFL phase, which already has a bulk viscosity
much smaller than all other known color-superconducting quark phases.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, v2: references added; minor rephrasings in the
conclusions; version to appear in J. Phys.
Thermal states of coldest and hottest neutron stars in soft X-ray transients
We calculate the thermal structure and quiescent thermal luminosity of
accreting neutron stars (warmed by deep crustal heating in accreted matter) in
soft X-ray transients (SXTs). We consider neutron stars with nucleon and
hyperon cores and with accreted envelopes. It is assumed that an envelope has
an outer helium layer (of variable depth) and deeper layers of heavier
elements, either with iron or with much heavier nuclei (of atomic weight A >
100) on the top (Haensel & Zdunik 1990, 2003, astro-ph/0305220). The relation
between the internal and surface stellar temperatures is obtained and fitted.
The quiescent luminosity of the hottest (low-mass) and coldest (high-mass)
neutron stars is calculated, together with the ranges of its possible
variations due to variable thickness of the helium layer. The results are
compared with observations of SXTs, particularly, containing the coldest (SAX
J1808.4-3658) and the hottest (Aql X-1) neutron stars. The observations of SAX
J1808.4-3658 in a quiescent state on March 24, 2001 (Campana et al. 2002,
astro-ph/0206376) can be explained only if this SXT contains a massive neutron
star with a nucleon/hyperon core; a hyperon core with a not too low fraction of
electrons is preferable. Future observations may discriminate between the
various models of hyperon/nucleon dense matter. The thermal emission of SAX
J1808.4-3658 is also sensitive to the models of plasma ionization in the
outermost surface layers and can serve for testing such models.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, LaTeX2e with aa.cls v.5.3 (included).
Accepted by A&
Minimal Cooling of Neutron Stars: A New Paradigm
A new classification of neutron star cooling scenarios, involving either
``minimal'' cooling or ``enhanced'' cooling is proposed. The minimal cooling
scenario replaces and extends the so-called standard cooling scenario to
include neutrino emission from the Cooper pair breaking and formation process.
This emission dominates that due to the modified Urca process for temperatures
close to the critical temperature for superfluid pairing. Minimal cooling is
distinguished from enhanced cooling by the absence of neutrino emission from
any direct Urca process, due either to nucleons or to exotica. Within the
minimal cooling scenario, theoretical cooling models can be considered to be a
four parameter family involving the equation of state of dense matter,
superfluid properties of dense matter, the composition of the neutron star
envelope, and the mass of the neutron star. Consequences of minimal cooling are
explored through extensive variations of these parameters. Results are compared
with the inferred properties of thermally-emitting neutron stars in order to
ascertain if enhanced cooling occurs in any of them. All stars for which
thermal emissions have been clearly detected are at least marginally consistent
with the lack of enhanced cooling. The two pulsars PSR 0833-45 (Vela) and PSR
1706-44 would require enhanced cooling in case their ages and/or temperatures
are on the lower side of their estimated values whereas the four stars PSR
0656+14, PSR 1055-52, Geminga, and RX J0720.4-3125 may require some source of
internal heating in case their age and/or luminosity are on the upper side of
their estimated values. The new upper limits on the thermal luminosity of PSR
J0205+6449 and RX J0007.0+7302 are indicative of the occurrence of some
enhanced neutrino emission beyond the minimal scenario.Comment: Version to appear in ApJ Supplements. Minor modifications in text and
discussion of updated data with new figure
Physics of Neutron Star Crusts
The physics of neutron star crusts is vast, involving many different research
fields, from nuclear and condensed matter physics to general relativity. This
review summarizes the progress, which has been achieved over the last few
years, in modeling neutron star crusts, both at the microscopic and macroscopic
levels. The confrontation of these theoretical models with observations is also
briefly discussed.Comment: 182 pages, published version available at
<http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2008-10