Glassy quantum nuclear pasta in neutron star crusts

Newton, William G.; Cantu, Sarah; Wang, Shuxi; Stinson, Amber; Kaltenborn, Mark Alexander; Stone, Jirina Rikovska

doi:10.1103/physrevc.105.025806

Glassy quantum nuclear pasta in neutron star crusts

Journal Article · Thu Feb 24 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Physical Review. C

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevc.105.025806· OSTI ID:1995144

^[1]; Cantu, Sarah ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[2]; Stone, Jirina Rikovska ^[3]

Texas A & M Univ. at Commerce, TX (United States)
George Washington Univ., Washington, DC (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom)

We conduct a comprehensive survey of the shape parameter space of the nuclear pasta phases in neutron star crusts by conducting three-dimensional Hartree-Fock + BCS calculations. Spaghetti, waffles, lasagna, bicontinuous phases and cylindrical holes occupy local minima in the resulting constant-pressure Gibbs energy surfaces, implying multiple geometries coexist at a given depth. Notably, the bicontinuous phase, in which both the neutron gas and nuclear matter extend continuously in all dimensions appears over a large depth range. Our results support the idea that nuclear pasta is a glassy system. At a characteristic temperature, of order 10⁸ – 10⁹K, different phases may become frozen into domains whose sizes we estimate to be 1–50 times the lattice spacing and over which the local density and electron fraction can vary. Above this temperature, very little long-range order exists and matter is an amorphous solid. Electron scattering off domain boundaries may contribute to the disorder resistivity of the pasta phases. Annealing of the domains may occur during cooling; repopulating of local minima during crustal heating might lead to temperature-dependent transport properties in the deep crust layers. We identify four regions distinguished by whether pasta is the true ground state, and whether the pasta structure allows delocalization of protons. The whole pasta region can occupy up to 70% of the crust by mass and 25% by thickness, and the layer in which protons are delocalized could occupy 45% of the crust mass and 15% of its thickness.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: NASA; NSF; USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1995144

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-21-24070

Journal Information:: Physical Review. C, Journal Name: Physical Review. C Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 105; ISSN 2469-9985

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (76)

Density as a constraint and the separation of internal excitation energy in TDHF Cusson, R. Y.; Reinhard, P. -G.; Strayer, M. R. Zeitschrift f�r Physik A Atoms and Nuclei, Vol. 320, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01415725	journal	September 1985
Pairing gaps from nuclear mean-fieldmo dels Bender, M.; Rutz, K.; Reinhard, P. -G. The European Physical Journal A, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10050-000-4504-z	journal	July 2000
Properties of nuclear pastas López, Jorge A.; Dorso, Claudio O.; Frank, Guillermo Frontiers of Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-020-1004-2	journal	November 2020
Calculation of the transport coefficients of the nuclear pasta phase Nandi, Rana; Schramm, Stefan Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, Vol. 39, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-018-9533-6	journal	July 2018
Neutron star matter at sub-nuclear densities Negele, J. W.; Vautherin, D. Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 207, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-9474(73)90349-7	journal	June 1973
Application of the imaginary time step method to the solution of the static Hartree-Fock problem Davies, K. T. R.; Flocard, H.; Krieger, S. Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 342, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-9474(80)90509-6	journal	June 1980
A comparative study of Hartree-Fock iteration techniques Reinhard, P. -G.; Cusson, R. Y. Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 378, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-9474(82)90458-4	journal	April 1982
Self-consistent study of triaxial deformations: Application to the isotopes of Kr, Sr, Zr and Mo Bonche, P.; Flocard, H.; Heenen, P. H. Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 443, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-9474(85)90320-3	journal	September 1985
Liquid crystals in the mantles of neutron stars Pethick, C. J.; Potekhin, A. Y. Physics Letters B, Vol. 427, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0370-2693(98)00341-4	journal	May 1998
Thermodynamic properties of nuclear “pasta” in neutron star crusts Watanabe, Gentaro; Iida, Kei; Sato, Katsuhiko Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 676, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0375-9474(00)00197-4	journal	August 2000
Band structure effects for dripped neutrons in neutron star crust Chamel, Nicolas Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 747, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2004.09.011	journal	January 2005
Simulations of cold nuclear matter at sub-saturation densities Giménez Molinelli, P. A.; Nichols, J. I.; López, J. A. Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 923 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2014.01.003	journal	March 2014
Phase transitions and symmetry energy in nuclear pasta Dorso, C. O.; Frank, G. A.; López, J. A. Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 978 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2018.07.008	journal	October 2018
Isospin asymmetry in nuclei and neutron stars Steiner, A. W.; Prakash, M.; Lattimer, J. M. Physics Reports, Vol. 411, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2005.02.004	journal	June 2005
A highly resistive layer within the crust of X-ray pulsars limits their spin periods Pons, José A.; Viganò, Daniele; Rea, Nanda Nature Physics, Vol. 9, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2640	journal	June 2013
Equation of State and Neutron star Properties Constrained by Nuclear Physics and Observation Hebeler, K.; Lattimer, J. M.; Pethick, C. J. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 773, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/773/1/11	journal	July 2013
A Survey of the Parameter Space of the Compressible Liquid drop Model as Applied to the Neutron star Inner Crust Newton, W. G.; Gearheart, M.; Li, Bao-An The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 204, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/204/1/9	journal	December 2012
Soft Condensed Matter Jones, Richard A. L. European Journal of Physics, Vol. 23, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0143-0807/23/6/703	journal	October 2002
Generalised meshes for quantum mechanical problems Baye, D.; Heenen, P. -H Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General, Vol. 19, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/0305-4470/19/11/013	journal	August 1986
Neutrino propagation in the nuclear ‘pasta phase’ of neutron stars Grygorov, P.; Gögelein, P.; Müther, H. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, Vol. 37, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1088/0954-3899/37/7/075203	journal	May 2010
The Cooling of the Cassiopeia a Neutron star as a Probe of the Nuclear Symmetry Energy and Nuclear Pasta Newton, William G.; Murphy, Kyleah; Hooker, Joshua The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 779, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/779/1/L4	journal	November 2013
Bulk viscosity in a neutron star mantle Yakovlev, D. G.; Gusakov, M. E.; Haensel, P. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 481, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty2639	journal	October 2018
Survey of nuclear pasta in the intermediate-density regime: Shapes and energies Schuetrumpf, B.; Martínez-Pinedo, G.; Afibuzzaman, Md. Physical Review C, Vol. 100, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.045806	journal	October 2019
Elastic properties of phases with nonspherical nuclei in dense matter Pethick, C. J.; Zhang, Zhao-Wen; Kobyakov, D. N. Physical Review C, Vol. 101, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.101.055802	journal	May 2020
Survey of nuclear pasta in the intermediate-density regime: Structure functions for neutrino scattering Schuetrumpf, B.; Martínez-Pinedo, G.; Reinhard, P. -G. Physical Review C, Vol. 101, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.101.055804	journal	May 2020
Nuclear pasta in hot and dense matter and its influence on the equation of state for astrophysical simulations Ji, Fan; Hu, Jinniu; Bao, Shishao Physical Review C, Vol. 102, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.102.015806	journal	July 2020
Fast neutrino cooling of nuclear pasta in neutron stars: Molecular dynamics simulations Lin, Zidu; Caplan, Matthew E.; Horowitz, Charles J. Physical Review C, Vol. 102, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.102.045801	journal	October 2020
Proton superconductivity in pasta phases in neutron star crusts Zhang, Zhao-Wen; Pethick, C. J. Physical Review C, Vol. 103, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.103.055807	journal	May 2021
Thermal fluctuations in nuclear pasta Caplan, M. E.; Forsman, C. R.; Schneider, A. S. Physical Review C, Vol. 103, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.103.055810	journal	May 2021
Quantum molecular dynamics approach to the nuclear matter below the saturation density Maruyama, Toshiki; Niita, Koji; Oyamatsu, Kazuhiro Physical Review C, Vol. 57, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.57.655	journal	February 1998
Structure of the inner crust of neutron stars: Crystal lattice or disordered phase? Magierski, P.; Heenen, P. -H. Physical Review C, Vol. 65, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.65.045804	journal	April 2002
Neutrino-“pasta” scattering: The opacity of nonuniform neutron-rich matter Horowitz, C. J.; Pérez-García, M. A.; Piekarewicz, J. Physical Review C, Vol. 69, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.69.045804	journal	April 2004
Dynamical response of the nuclear “pasta” in neutron star crusts Horowitz, C. J.; Pérez-García, M. A.; Berry, D. K. Physical Review C, Vol. 72, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.72.035801	journal	September 2005
Fusion reactions in multicomponent dense matter Yakovlev, D. G.; Gasques, L. R.; Afanasjev, A. V. Physical Review C, Vol. 74, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.74.035803	journal	September 2006
Nuclear matter in the crust of neutron stars Gögelein, P.; Müther, H. Physical Review C, Vol. 76, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.76.024312	journal	August 2007
Nuclear matter in the crust of neutron stars derived from realistic NN interactions Gögelein, P.; Dalen, E. N. E. van; Fuchs, C. Physical Review C, Vol. 77, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.77.025802	journal	February 2008
Phase diagram of nuclear “pasta” and its uncertainties in supernova cores Sonoda, Hidetaka; Watanabe, Gentaro; Sato, Katsuhiko Physical Review C, Vol. 77, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.77.035806	journal	March 2008
Shear viscosity and thermal conductivity of nuclear “pasta” Horowitz, C. J.; Berry, D. K. Physical Review C, Vol. 78, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.78.035806	journal	September 2008
Modeling nuclear “pasta” and the transition to uniform nuclear matter with the 3D Skyrme-Hartree-Fock method at finite temperature: Core-collapse supernovae Newton, W. G.; Stone, J. R. Physical Review C, Vol. 79, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.79.055801	journal	May 2009
Simple analytic model for astrophysical S factors Yakovlev, D. G.; Beard, M.; Gasques, L. R. Physical Review C, Vol. 82, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.82.044609	journal	October 2010
Curvature effect on nuclear “pasta”: Is it helpful for gyroid appearance? Nakazato, Ken'ichiro; Iida, Kei; Oyamatsu, Kazuhiro Physical Review C, Vol. 83, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.83.065811	journal	June 2011
Topological characterization of neutron star crusts Dorso, C. O.; Giménez Molinelli, P. A.; López, J. A. Physical Review C, Vol. 86, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.86.055805	journal	November 2012
Time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach to nuclear “pasta” at finite temperature Schuetrumpf, B.; Klatt, M. A.; Iida, K. Physical Review C, Vol. 87, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.87.055805	journal	May 2013
Nuclear “pasta” formation Schneider, A. S.; Horowitz, C. J.; Hughto, J. Physical Review C, Vol. 88, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.88.065807	journal	December 2013
Nuclear “pasta matter” for different proton fractions Schuetrumpf, B.; Iida, K.; Maruhn, J. A. Physical Review C, Vol. 90, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.90.055802	journal	November 2014
Nuclear “waffles” Schneider, A. S.; Berry, D. K.; Briggs, C. M. Physical Review C, Vol. 90, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.90.055805	journal	November 2014
Appearance of the single gyroid network phase in “nuclear pasta” matter Schuetrumpf, B.; Klatt, M. A.; Iida, K. Physical Review C, Vol. 91, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.025801	journal	February 2015
Pasta nucleosynthesis: Molecular dynamics simulations of nuclear statistical equilibrium Caplan, M. E.; Schneider, A. S.; Horowitz, C. J. Physical Review C, Vol. 91, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.065802	journal	June 2015
Twist-averaged boundary conditions for nuclear pasta Hartree-Fock calculations Schuetrumpf, B.; Nazarewicz, W. Physical Review C, Vol. 92, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.92.045806	journal	October 2015
Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of neutron matter with chiral three-body forces Tews, I.; Gandolfi, S.; Gezerlis, A. Physical Review C, Vol. 93, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.93.024305	journal	February 2016
Time-dependent density functional theory with twist-averaged boundary conditions Schuetrumpf, B.; Nazarewicz, W.; Reinhard, P. -G. Physical Review C, Vol. 93, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.93.054304	journal	May 2016
Asymmetric nuclear matter based on chiral two- and three-nucleon interactions Drischler, C.; Hebeler, K.; Schwenk, A. Physical Review C, Vol. 93, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.93.054314	journal	May 2016
Quantum simulations of nuclei and nuclear pasta with the multiresolution adaptive numerical environment for scientific simulations Sagert, I.; Fann, G. I.; Fattoyev, F. J. Physical Review C, Vol. 93, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.93.055801	journal	May 2016
Effect of topological defects on “nuclear pasta” observables Schneider, A. S.; Berry, D. K.; Caplan, M. E. Physical Review C, Vol. 93, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.93.065806	journal	June 2016
Low-density nuclear matter with quantum molecular dynamics: The role of the symmetry energy Nandi, Rana; Schramm, Stefan Physical Review C, Vol. 94, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.94.025806	journal	August 2016
“Parking-garage” structures in nuclear astrophysics and cellular biophysics Berry, D. K.; Caplan, M. E.; Horowitz, C. J. Physical Review C, Vol. 94, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.94.055801	journal	November 2016
Quantum nuclear pasta and nuclear symmetry energy Fattoyev, F. J.; Horowitz, C. J.; Schuetrumpf, B. Physical Review C, Vol. 95, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.95.055804	journal	May 2017
Domains and defects in nuclear pasta Schneider, A. S.; Caplan, M. E.; Berry, D. K. Physical Review C, Vol. 98, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.98.055801	journal	November 2018
Gyroid Phase in Nuclear Pasta Nakazato, Ken’ichiro; Oyamatsu, Kazuhiro; Yamada, Shoichi Physical Review Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.132501	journal	September 2009
Exploring the Nuclear Pasta Phase in Core-Collapse Supernova Matter Pais, Helena; Stone, Jirina R. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 109, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.151101	journal	October 2012
Disordered Nuclear Pasta, Magnetic Field Decay, and Crust Cooling in Neutron Stars Horowitz, C. J.; Berry, D. K.; Briggs, C. M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 114, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.031102	journal	January 2015
Elasticity of Nuclear Pasta Caplan, M. E.; Schneider, A. S.; Horowitz, C. J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 121, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.132701	journal	September 2018
Hot Dense Matter and Stellar Collapse Lamb, D. Q.; Lattimer, J. M.; Pethick, C. J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 41, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.41.1623	journal	December 1978
Structure of Matter below Nuclear Saturation Density Ravenhall, D. G.; Pethick, C. J.; Wilson, J. R. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 50, Issue 26 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.50.2066	journal	June 1983
Neutron star crusts Lorenz, C. P.; Ravenhall, D. G.; Pethick, C. J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 70, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.379	journal	January 1993
Self-consistent mean-field models for nuclear structure Bender, Michael; Heenen, Paul-Henri; Reinhard, Paul-Gerhard Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 75, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.75.121	journal	January 2003
Colloquium : Astromaterial science and nuclear pasta Caplan, M. E.; Horowitz, C. J. Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 89, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.041002	journal	October 2017
Pycnonuclear burning of³⁴Ne in accreting neutron stars Yakovlev, D. G.; Gasques, L.; Wiescher, M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 371, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10753.x	journal	September 2006
Fictive Temperature and the Glassy State Mauro, John C.; Loucks, Roger J.; Gupta, Prabhat K. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 92, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1551-2916.2008.02851.x	journal	January 2009
Superfluid Liquid Crystals: Pasta Phases in Neutron Star Crusts Kobyakov, D. N.; Pethick, C. J. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, Vol. 127, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776118110067	journal	November 2018
The equation of state of neutron matter, symmetry energy and neutron star structure Gandolfi, S.; Carlson, J.; Reddy, S. The European Physical Journal A, Vol. 50, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2014-14010-5	journal	February 2014
Shape of Nuclei in the Crust of Neutron Star Hashimoto, M. -a.; Seki, H.; Yamada, M. Progress of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 71, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1143/PTP.71.320	journal	February 1984
Further Study of the Nuclear Shape in High-Density Matter Oyamatsu, K.; Hashimoto, M. -a.; Yamada, M. Progress of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 72, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1143/PTP.72.373	journal	August 1984
Neutron Matter from Low to High Density Gandolfi, Stefano; Gezerlis, Alexandros; Carlson, J. Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, Vol. 65, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nucl-102014-021957	journal	October 2015
Transport Properties of the Nuclear Pasta Phase with Quantum Molecular Dynamics Nandi, Rana; Schramm, Stefan The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 852, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa9f12	journal	January 2018
Prior Probability Distributions of Neutron Star Crust Models Balliet, Lauren E.; Newton, William G.; Cantu, Sarah The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 918, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac06a4	journal	September 2021

Similar Records

Fast neutrino cooling of nuclear pasta in neutron stars: Molecular dynamics simulations

Journal Article · Mon Oct 05 20:00:00 EDT 2020 · Physical Review. C · OSTI ID:1849969

Warming nuclear pasta with dark matter: kinetic and annihilation heating of neutron star crusts

Journal Article · Mon Mar 16 20:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics · OSTI ID:1802537

Superfluid Liquid Crystals: Pasta Phases in Neutron Star Crusts

Journal Article · Wed Nov 14 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics · OSTI ID:22917858

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Gravitation
Cosmology & Astrophysics
Neutron stars & pulsars
Nuclear Physics
Nuclear many-body theory
Nuclear matter in neutron stars

Glassy quantum nuclear pasta in neutron star crusts

Citation Formats

References (76)

Similar Records

Related Subjects