The equation of state of neutron star matter and the symmetry energy

Abstract

We present an overview of microscopical calculations of the Equation of State (EOS) of neutron matter performed using Quantum Monte Carlo techniques. We focus to the role of the model of the three-neutron force in the high-density part of the EOS up to a few times the saturation density. We also discuss the interplay between the symmetry energy and the neutron star mass-radius relation. The combination of theoretical models of the EOS with recent neutron stars observations permits us to constrain the value of the symmetry energy and its slope. We show that astrophysical observations are starting to provide important insights into the properties of neutron star matter.

7 pages, 3 figure, talk given at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)

References in corpus (9)

• Shapiro delay measurement of a two solar mass neutron star
• Constraints on the symmetry energy and neutron skins from experiments and theory
• The Skyrme Interaction in finite nuclei and nuclear matter
• Connecting Neutron Star Observations to Three-Body Forces in Neutron Matter and to the Nuclear Symmetry Energy
• Density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy: a microscopic perspective
• Quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the equation of state of neutron matter
• Cold neutrons trapped in external fields
• Nuclear symmetry energy and the r-mode instability of neutron stars
• Sensitivity of the neutron star r-mode instability window to the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Effects of the liquid-gas phase transition and cluster formation on the symmetry energy
• Hyperons in Neutron Stars across the observed mass range: Insights from realistic $\Lambda$-N and $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$ interactions within a Microscopic Framework