2005 2nd Joint Meeting of the Nuclear Physics Divisions of the APS and The Physical Society of Japan
Sunday–Thursday, September 18–22, 2005;
Maui, Hawaii
Session 2WH: Workshop 8B: Neutron-Rich Nuclei in Nuclear Astrophysics
2:00 PM–5:00 PM,
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Room: Plantation 1
Sponsoring
Units:
DNP JPS
Chair: Hiroyuki Sagawa, University of Aizu
Abstract ID: BAPS.2005.HAW.2WH.1
Abstract: 2WH.00001 : Nuclear equation of state from neutron star structure and cooling
2:00 PM–2:30 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
James Lattimer
(Stony Brook University)
Neutron stars represent the ultimate laboratory for the study of
dense matter, especially neutron-rich dense matter. Such matter
may exhibit phenomena and conditions not observed anywhere else
in the universe, such as hyperon-dominated matter, deconfined
strange quark matter, superfluidity and superconductivity,
opaqueness to neutrinos, and extreme magnetic fields. To date,
the two most important properties of neutron stars, their typical
radii and their maximum mass, remain elusive. The determination
of each would yield important information about two different
aspects of dense matter, the radius being primarily a function of
the isospin dependence of the nucleon-nucleon force near the
nuclear saturation density, and the maximum mass depending upon
the composition and stiffness of supranuclear matter.
This talk will focus on how the structure of neutron stars ({\it
i.e.}, the maximum mass, radii, moments of inertia, crustal
thicknesses, and central densities) depends upon the equation of
state and the composition of dense matter. In addition, it will
summarize how recent observations are constraining these
structural properties. These observations include radio and
X-ray studies of binary pulsars, radio studies of pulsar
glitches, X-ray and optical studies of the thermal emission from
isolated neutron stars and pulsars, and observations of burst
sources believed to be associated with the neutron star surface.
Radio binary pulsars already yield several accurate mass
measurements, and several more estimated masses, some of which
challenge conventional wisdom concerning the maximum neutron star
mass. In addition, the potential exists to measure the moment of
inertia of at least one neutron star (PSR J0737-3039) in a radio
binary which could provide a radius determination of
unprecedented accuracy. Glitches from pulsars can help determine
the thickness of neutron star crusts, which depends upon the
stellar mass and radius, as well as the unknown pressure at the
core-crust interface at approximately one half of the nuclear
saturation density. Thermally emitting sources yield valuable
data about the redshifted area, redshifted temperatures, and ages
of the emitting sources, which in turn proffer information about
the cooling histories of neutron stars. Neutron star cooling
indirectly informs us about the internal composition and the
superfluid properties of dense matter. Burst sources, including
quasi-periodic oscillators, may convey surface redshift data,
which together with radiation radius information, will yield
neutron star masses and radii.
Parallel constraints from laboratory data, such as nuclear
binding energies, dipole resonance energies, and neutron skin
thickness determinations are also discussed for comparison.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2005.HAW.2WH.1