In-medium enhancement of the modified Urca neutrino reaction rates

We calculate modified Urca neutrino emission rates in the dense nuclear matter in neutron star cores. We find that these rates are strongly enhanced in the beta-stable matter in regions of the core close to the direct Urca process threshold. This enhancement can be tracked to the use of the in-medium nucleon spectrum in the virtual nucleon propagator. We describe the in-medium nucleon scattering in the non-relativistic Bruckner-Hartree-Fock framework taking into account two-body as well as the effective three-body forces, although the proposed enhancement does not rely on a particular way of the nucleon interaction treatment. Finally we suggest a simple approximate expression for the emissivity of the n-branch of the modified Urca process that can be used in the neutron stars cooling simulations with any nucleon equation of state of dense matter.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in PLB. In v.2 misprint in eq.(9) corrected and discussion of cooling curves expande

Neutron star cooling after deep crustal heating in the X-ray transient KS 1731-260

We simulate the cooling of the neutron star in the X-ray transient KS 1731-260 after the source returned to quiescence in 2001 from a long (>~ 12.5 yr) outburst state. We show that the cooling can be explained assuming that the crust underwent deep heating during the outburst stage. In our best theoretical scenario the neutron star has no enhanced neutrino emission in the core, and its crust is thin, superfluid, and has the normal thermal conductivity. The thermal afterburst crust-core relaxation in the star may be not over.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted by MNRAS. In v.2, two references added and typos correcte

Fusion of neutron rich oxygen isotopes in the crust of accreting neutron stars

Fusion reactions in the crust of an accreting neutron star are an important source of heat, and the depth at which these reactions occur is important for determining the temperature profile of the star. Fusion reactions depend strongly on the nuclear charge $Z$. Nuclei with $Z\le 6$ can fuse at low densities in a liquid ocean. However, nuclei with Z=8 or 10 may not burn until higher densities where the crust is solid and electron capture has made the nuclei neutron rich. We calculate the $S$ factor for fusion reactions of neutron rich nuclei including $^{24}$O + $^{24}$O and $^{28}$Ne + $^{28}$Ne. We use a simple barrier penetration model. The $S$ factor could be further enhanced by dynamical effects involving the neutron rich skin. This possible enhancement in $S$ should be studied in the laboratory with neutron rich radioactive beams. We model the structure of the crust with molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the crust of accreting neutron stars may contain micro-crystals or regions of phase separation. Nevertheless, the screening factors that we determine for the enhancement of the rate of thermonuclear reactions are insensitive to these features. Finally, we calculate the rate of thermonuclear $^{24}$O + $^{24}$O fusion and find that $^{24}$O should burn at densities near $10^{11}$ g/cm$^3$. The energy released from this and similar reactions may be important for the temperature profile of the star.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figs, minor changes, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Shear viscosity in neutron star cores

We calculate the shear viscosity $\eta = \eta_{e\mu}+\eta_{n}$ in a neutron star core composed of nucleons, electrons and muons ($\eta_{e\mu}$ being the electron-muon viscosity, mediated by collisions of electrons and muons with charged particles, and $\eta_{n}$ the neutron viscosity, mediated by neutron-neutron and neutron-proton collisions). Deriving $\eta_{e\mu}$, we take into account the Landau damping in collisions of electrons and muons with charged particles via the exchange of transverse plasmons. It lowers $\eta_{e\mu}$ and leads to the non-standard temperature behavior $\eta_{e\mu}\propto T^{-5/3}$. The viscosity $\eta_{n}$ is calculated taking into account that in-medium effects modify nucleon effective masses in dense matter. Both viscosities, $\eta_{e\mu}$ and $\eta_{n}$, 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 $\eta$ for different equations of state in neutron star cores, and compare $\eta$ 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