arXiv subjects

Gabriele Montefusco

Publications and source records attributed to Gabriele Montefusco.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fluxtube Bouquets and Type-1.5 Clustering in Superfluid Neutron Star Cores

We study mesoscopic configurations of a neutron superfluid coupled to a proton superconductor in the outer core of a neutron star. The condensates are described by a two-component Ginzburg-Landau free energy with local couplings, neglecting genuine phase-gradient entrainment. In two spatial dimensions, we minimize the free energy using quasi-periodic boundary conditions and constrained phase-imprinting calculations to study vortex-fluxtube and fluxtube-fluxtube interactions. We find that, for locally attractive couplings in the free energy, vortex-fluxtube overlap is energetically favoured and several pre-existing proton fluxtubes can bind around a neutron vortex, forming finite vortex-centred aggregates that we call fluxtube bouquets. These bouquet configurations may become so dense that a vortex can effectively accommodate several quanta of magnetic flux. We also confirm the possible presence of a type-1.5-like regime and find that it survives in the zero-entrainment regime considered here. In this type-1.5 regime, the fluxtube-fluxtube interaction is repulsive at short distances and attractive at intermediate distances, leading to self-assembled clusters while the individual fluxtubes remain topologically distinct. Possible implications for dissipative coupling and transport in neutron stars are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

An Asymptotically Causal Metamodel for Neutron Star Equations of State

Nuclear metamodels - phenomenological parametrizations of the energy of nuclear matter - are convenient tools to explore the space of realistic neutron star configurations constrained by astrophysical and nuclear data. While much recent work has focused on composition-agnostic barotropic models, the metamodel approach is designed to describe the composition dependence of the relevant thermodynamic potential. We revise a previously proposed non-relativistic metamodel by introducing a more controlled high-density behavior, improving both its causal properties and its accuracy in reproducing the pressure and the $\beta$-equilibrium composition of microscopically motivated equations of state. Since asymptotic causality is enforced by construction, the fraction of discarded models due to superluminal sound speeds is substantially reduced, facilitating metamodel-based explorations of equilibrium neutron star configurations. We further assess our framework by performing a Bayesian inference of neutron star properties beyond standard observables such as masses and radii, exploiting the metamodel's ability to probe composition-dependent quantities including the dUrca threshold and the Ledoux criterion for g-mode stability.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Frozen and $\beta$-equilibrated $f$ and $p$ modes of cold neutron stars: nuclear metamodel predictions

When the chemical re-equilibration timescale is sufficiently long, the normal and quasi-normal mode frequencies of neutron stars should be calculated in the idealized limit that the internal composition of each fluid element is fixed over the oscillation period. However, many studies rely on a barotropic equation of state, which implicitly overlooks potential out-of-$\beta$-equilibrium effects. To investigate possible biases arising from this assumption, we calculate the non-radial fundamental ($f$) and first pressure ($p_1$) modes for a wide range of neutron star structures, each governed by different nucleonic equations of state. This ensemble is generated using the metamodel technique, a phenomenological framework that incorporates constraints from experimental nuclear physics and chiral effective field theory. The metamodel also provides the internal composition of $\beta$-equilibrated $npe\mu$ matter, allowing us to calculate oscillation modes beyond those supported by a purely barotropic fluid. Thus, we systematically assess the impact of assuming a barotropic equation of state across various equations of state and provide a distribution of expected $f$ and $p_1$ mode frequencies that may be detectable by next-generation gravitational wave interferometers.

nucl-th↗