Towards a metallurgy of neutron star crusts.
In the standard picture of the crust of a neutron star, matter there is simple: a body-centered-cubic lattice of nuclei immersed in an essentially uniform electron gas. We show that, at densities above that for neutron drip (∼ 4 × 1 0(11)  g cm(-3) or roughly one-thousandth of nuclear matter density), the interstitial neutrons give rise to an attractive interaction between nuclei that renders the lattice unstable. We argue that the likely equilibrium structure is similar to that in displacive ferroelectric materials such as BaTiO3. As a consequence, the properties of matter in the inner crust are expected to be much richer than previously appreciated, and we mention possible consequences for observable neutron star properties.
Department of Physics, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden and Radiophysics Department, Nizhny Novgorod State University, Gagarin Avenue 23, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and The Niels Bohr International Academy, The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
D
D
Kobyakov
The Niels Bohr International Academy, The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark and NORDITA, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
C J
CJ
Pethick