Publication Date:
2015-02-26
Description:
The heat capacity of neutron matter is studied over the range of densities and temperatures prevailing in neutron-star crusts, allowing for the transition to a superfluid phase at temperatures below some critical temperature T sf and including the transition to the classical limit. Finite-temperature Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov equations are solved and compared to existing approximate expressions. In particular, the formula given by Levenfish and Yakovlev is found to reproduce the numerical results with a high degree of accuracy for temperatures T ≤ T sf . In the non-superfluid phase, T ≥ T sf , the linear approximation is valid only at temperature T 〈〈 T Fn ( T Fn being the Fermi temperature of the neutron gas) which is rarely the case in the shallow layers of the neutron-star's crust. A non-perturbative interpolation between the quantal and the classical regimes is proposed here. The heat capacity, conveniently parametrized solely in terms of T sf , T Fn , and the neutron number density n n , can be easily implemented in neutron-star cooling simulations.
Print ISSN:
0035-8711
Electronic ISSN:
1365-2966
Topics:
Physics
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