Gyroid Phase in Nuclear Pasta

Journal Article · Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.103.132501· OSTI ID:21370692

Nakazato, Ken'ichiro ^[1]; Oyamatsu, Kazuhiro ^[2]; Yamada, Shoichi ^[3]

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1. Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kita-shirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)
2. Department of Library and Information Science, Aichi Shukutoku University, Nagakute-Katahira 9, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1197 (Japan)
3. Department of Physics, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan)

Nuclear matter is considered to be inhomogeneous at subnuclear densities that are realized in supernova cores and neutron star crusts, and the structures of nuclear matter change from spheres to cylinders, slabs, cylindrical holes, and spherical holes as the density increases. In this Letter, we discuss other possible structures, that is, gyroid and double-diamond morphologies, which are periodic bicontinuous structures discovered in a block copolymer. Utilizing the compressible liquid drop model, we show that there is a chance of gyroid appearance near the transition point from a cylinder to a slab and the volume fraction at this point is also similar for nuclear and polymer systems. Although the five shapes listed initially have been long thought to be the only major constituents of so-called nuclear pasta at subnuclear densities, our findings imply that this belief needs to be reconsidered.

• OSTI ID: 21370692
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 13; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.132501; (c) 2009 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
COPOLYMERS
CYLINDRICAL CONFIGURATION
DIAMONDS
LIQUID DROP MODEL
MORPHOLOGY
NEUTRON STARS
NUCLEAR MATTER
PERIODICITY
SPHERICAL CONFIGURATION
SUPERNOVAE
BINARY STARS
CARBON
CONFIGURATION
ELEMENTS
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATTER
MINERALS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR MODELS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
POLYMERS
STARS
VARIABLE STARS
VARIATIONS