Using the momentum-dependent MDI effective interaction for nucleons, we have
studied the transition density and pressure at the boundary between the inner
crust and liquid core of hot neutron stars. We find that their values are
larger in neutrino-trapped neutron stars than in neutrino-free neutron stars.
Furthermore, both are found to decrease with increasing temperature of a
neutron star as well as increasing slope parameter of the nuclear symmetry
energy, except that the transition pressure in neutrino-trapped neutron stars
for the case of small symmetry energy slope parameter first increases and then
decreases with increasing temperature. We have also studied the effect of the
nuclear symmetry energy on the critical temperature above which the inner crust
in a hot neutron star disappears and found that with increasing value of the
symmetry energy slope parameter, the critical temperature decreases slightly in
neutrino-trapped neutron stars but first decreases and then increases in
neutrino-free neutron stars.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
