Neutron specific heat in the crust of neutron stars from the nuclear band theory

Nicolas Chamel (1) , Jérôme Margueron (2) , Elias Khan (2)

1 IAA - Institut d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique [Bruxelles]
2 IPNO - Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay

The inner crust of neutron stars, formed of a crystal lattice of uclear clusters immersed in a sea of unbound neutrons, may be the nique example of periodic nuclear systems. We have calculated the neutron specific heat in the shallow part of the crust using the band theory of solids with Skyrme nucleon-nucleon interactions. We have also tested the validity of various approximations. We have found that the neutron specific heat is well described by that of a Fermi gas, while the motion of the unbound neutrons is strongly affected by the nuclear lattice. These apparently contradictory results are explained by the particular properties of the neutron Fermi surface.

Mots clés: neutron star crust; neutron star cooling; band theory; specific heat; dynamical effective mass

Domaines: Physique Nucléaire Théorique [nucl-th]; Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]; Astrophysique [astro-ph]

Nicolas Chamel, Jérôme Margueron, Elias Khan. Neutron specific heat in the crust of neutron stars from the nuclear band theory. Physical Review C, 2009, 79, pp.012801. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevC.79.012801⟩. ⟨hal-00349072⟩