arXiv subjects

Jirina R. Stone

Publications and source records attributed to Jirina R. Stone.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Dense Matter in Neutron Stars with eXTP

In this White Paper, we present the potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission to constrain the equation of state of dense matter in neutron stars, exploring regimes not directly accessible to terrestrial experiments. By observing a diverse population of neutron stars - including isolated objects, X-ray bursters, and accreting systems - eXTP's unique combination of timing, spectroscopy, and polarimetry enables high-precision measurements of compactness, spin, surface temperature, polarimetric signals, and timing irregularity. These multifaceted observations, combined with advances in theoretical modeling, pave the way toward a comprehensive description of the properties and phases of dense matter from the crust to the core of neutron stars. Under development by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the eXTP mission is planned to be launched in early 2030.

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arXiv2025

Predictions in the superheavy region from the quark-meson coupling model QMC$π$-III

The Quark-Meson Coupling (QMC) model establishes a self-consistent relationship between the quark structure dynamics of a nucleon and the relativistic mean fields that arise within the nuclear medium. The model has been successful in calculating the ground-state observables of finite nuclei and in predicting the properties of dense nuclear matter, as well as cold, nonaccreting neutron stars. This paper focuses on the latest predictions from the model for the superheavy region, encompassing energies and deformations. Despite utilizing significantly fewer model parameters, the results have consistently improved as the model evolved, yielding better predictions for binding energies.

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arXiv2020

Spinodal Instability at the Onset of Collective Expansion in Nuclear Collisions

Using transport theory to model central Au + Au collisions in the energy region of 20 - 110 MeV/u, at impact parameters b <= 5 fm, we predict a measurable impact of spinoidal instability as the collective expansion sets in with energy. Two transport models are employed, the pBUU model, solving a Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation, and the Brownian Motion (BM) model, solving a set of Langevin equations to describe the motion of individual nucleons in a noisy nuclear medium. We find without ambiguity, for the first time, that a combination of delayed equilibration, onset of collective expansion and the spinodal instability produces a pair of transient ring structures, made of the projectile and target remnants, with spectator nucleons predicted to end in the entities reminiscent of stones in jewelry, on the rings. The ring structures, calculated in the configuration space and mapped onto the velocity space, could be detected in experimental collective flow data.

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arXiv2020

The outer crust of a cold, non-accreting neutron star within the Quark-Meson Coupling (QMC) model

The outer crust properties of cold non-accreting neutron stars are studied within the framework of the quark-meson coupling (QMC) model, which includes the effects of modifications of the quark structure inside individual nucleons when they are within a high-density nuclear medium. With a unique set of five well-constrained adjustable parameters, which have a clear physical basis, the QMC model gives predictions for the ground state observables of even-even nuclei which agree with experiment as well as traditional models. Furthermore, it gives improved theoretical values for nuclei thought to play a role in the outer crusts of neutron stars but for which experimental data is not available. Using the latest experimental data tables wherever possible but otherwise the predictions from the QMC model, we construct an equation of state for the outer crust which is then used within stellar model calculations to obtain an equilibrium sequence of crustal layers, each characterized by a particular neutron rich nuclei. Various properties of the layers are calculated for a range of neutron-star masses, and comparisons are made with alternative equations of state from the literature. This leads to the conclusion that the QMC model successfully predicts the outer crust properties and is fully comparable with the more traditional mass models, which all depend on a larger number of parameters.

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arXiv2020

Tensor and pairing interactions within the QMC energy density functional

In the latest version of the QMC model, QMC$π$-III-T, the density functional is improved to include the tensor component quadratic in the spin-current and a pairing interaction derived in the QMC framework. Traditional pairing strengths are expressed in terms of the QMC parameters and the parameters of the model optimised. A variety of nuclear observables are calculated with the final set of parameters. The inclusion of the tensor component improves the predictions for ground-state bulk properties, while it has a small effect on the single-particle spectra. Further, its effect on the deformation of selected nuclei is found to improve the energies of doubly-magic nuclei at sphericity. Changes in the energy curves along the Zr chain with increasing deformation are investigated in detail. The new pairing functional is also applied to the study of neutron shell gaps, where it leads to improved predictions for subshell closures in the superheavy region.

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arXiv2020

Neutron stars from crust to core within the Quark-meson coupling model

Recent years continue to be an exciting time for the neutron star physics, providing many new observations and insights to these natural laboratories of cold dense matter. To describe them, there are many models on the market but still none that would reproduce all observed and experimental data. The quark-meson coupling model stands out with its natural inclusion of hyperons as dense matter building blocks, and fewer parameters necessary to obtain the nuclear matter equation of state. The latest advances of the QMC model and its application to the neutron star physics will be presented, within which we build the neutron star's outer crust from finite nuclei up to the neutron drip line. The appearance of different elements and their position in the crust of a neutron star is explored and compared to the predictions of various models, giving the same quality of the results for the QMC model as for the models when the nucleon structure is not taken into account.

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arXiv2018

Parameter Optimisation for the Latest Quark-Meson Coupling Energy Density Functional

The Quark--Meson--Coupling (QMC) model self-consistently relates the dynamics of the internal quark structure of a hadron to the relativistic mean fields arising in nuclear matter. It offers a natural explanation to some open questions in nuclear theory, including the origin of many-body nuclear forces and their saturation, the spin-orbit interaction and properties of hadronic matter at a wide range of densities. The QMC energy density functionals QMC-I and QMC$π$-I have been successfully applied to calculate ground state observables of finite nuclei in the Hartree-Fock + BCS approximation, as well as to predict properties of dense nuclear matter and cold non-rotating neutron stars. Here we report the latest development of the model, QMC$π$-II, extended to include higher order self-interaction of the $σ$ meson. A derivative-free optimization algorithm has been employed to determine a new set of the model parameters and their statistics, including errors and correlations. QMC$π$-II predictions for a wide range of properties of even-even nuclei across the nuclear chart, with fewer adjustable parameters, are comparable with other models. Predictions of ground state binding energies of even-even isotopes of superheavy elements with Z$>$96 are particularly encouraging.

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arXiv2016

Braking Index of Isolated Pulsars

Isolated pulsars are rotating neutron stars with accurately measured angular velocities $Ω$, and their time derivatives that show unambiguously that the pulsars are slowing down. The commonly accepted view is that it arises through emission of magnetic dipole radiation (MDR) from a rotating magnetized body. The calculated energy loss by a rotating pulsar with a constant moment of inertia is assumed proportional to a model dependent power of $Ω$. This relation leads to the power law $\dotΩ$ = -K $Ω^{\rm n}$ where $n$ is called the braking index. The MDR model predicts $n$ exactly equal to 3. Selected observations of isolated pulsars provide rather precise values of $n$, individually accurate to a few percent or better, in the range 1$ <$ n $ < $ 2.8, which is consistently less than the predictions of the MDR model. In spite of an extensive investigation of various modifications of the MDR model, no satisfactory explanation of observation has been found yet. The aim of this work is to determine the deviation of the value of $n$ from the canonical $n = 3$ for a star with a frequency dependent moment of inertia in the region of frequencies from zero to the Kepler velocity (onset of mass shedding by a rotating deformed star), in the macroscopic MDR model. For the first time, we use microscopic realistic equations of state (EoS) of the star to determine its behavior and structure. In addition, we examine the effects of the baryonic mass M$_{\rm B}$ of the star, and possible core superfluidity, on the value of the braking index within the MDR model.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Braking Index of Isolated Pulsars II: A novel two-dipole model of pulsar magnetism

The magnetic dipole radiation (MDR) model is currently the best approach we have to explain pulsar radiation. However a most characteristic parameter of the observed radiation, the braking index n$_{\rm obs}$ shows deviations for all the eight best studied isolated pulsars, from the simple model prediction n$_{\rm dip}$ = 3. The index depends upon the rotational frequency and its first and second time derivatives, but also on the assumption of that the magnetic dipole moment and inclination angle, and the moment of inertia of the pulsar are constant in time. In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. D 91, 063007 (2015)] we showed conclusively that changes in the moment of inertia with frequency alone, cannot explain the observed braking indices. Possible observational evidence for the magnetic dipole moment migrating away from the rotational axis at a rate $\dotα$ $\sim$ 0.6$^{\circ}$ per 100 years over the life time of the Crab pulsar has been recently suggested by Lyne et al. In this paper, we explore the MDR model with constant moment of inertia and magnetic dipole moment but variable inclination angle $α$. We first discuss the effect of the variation of $α$ on the observed braking indices and show they all can be understood. However, no explanation for the origin of the change in $α$ is provided. After discussion of the possible source(s) of magnetism in pulsars we propose a simple mechanism for the change in $α$ based on a toy model in which the magnetic structure in pulsars consists of two interacting dipoles. We show that such a system can explain the Crab observation and the measured braking indices.

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arXiv2015

Core-collapse supernova matter: light clusters, pasta phase and phase transitions

The pasta phase in core-collapse supernova matter (finite temperatures and fixed proton fractions) is studied within relativistic mean field models. Two different calculations are used for comparison, the Thomas-Fermi (TF) and the Coexisting Phases (CP) approximations. The effects of including light clusters in nuclear matter and the densities at which the transitions between pasta configurations and to uniform matter occur are also investigated. Finally, a comparison with a finite temperature Skyrme-Hartree-Fock calculation is drawn.

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arXiv2014

Phase transitions in Core-Collapse Supernova Matter at sub-saturation densities

We perform a three-dimensional, finite temperature Skyrme-Hartree-Fock study of inhomogeneous nuclear matter to determine the critical density and temperature for the phase transition between the pasta phase and homogeneous matter and its properties. We employ four different parametrizations of the Skyrme nuclear energy-density functional, SkM$^*$, SLy4, NRAPR and SQMC700, which span a range of saturation-density symmetry energy behaviours constrained by a variety of nuclear experimental probes. For each of these interactions we calculate free energy, pressure, entropy and chemical potentials in the range of particle number densities where the nuclear pasta phases are expected to exist, 0.02 - 0.12 fm$^{-3}$, temperatures 2 - 8 MeV and a proton fraction of 0.3. We find unambiguous evidence for a first-order phase transition to uniform matter, unsoftened by the presence of the pasta phases. No conclusive signs of first-order phase transition between the pasta phases is observed, and it is argued that the thermodynamic quantities vary continuously right up to the first-order phase transition to uniform matter. We compare our results with thermodynamic spinodals calculated using the same Skyrme parameterizations, finding that the effect of short-range Coulomb correlations and quantum shell effects included in our model leads to the pasta phases existing at densities up to 0.1 fm$^{-3}$ above the spinodal boundaries, thus increasing the transition density to uniform matter by the same amount. The transition density is otherwise shown to be insensitive to the symmetry energy at saturation density within the range constrained by the concordance of a variety of experimental constraints, and can be taken to be a well-determined quantity.

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arXiv2010

Dark matter, neutron stars and strange quark matter

We show that self-annihilating neutralino WIMP dark matter accreted onto neutron stars may provide a mechanism to seed compact objects with long-lived lumps of strange quark matter, or strangelets, for WIMP masses above a few GeV. This effect may trigger a conversion of most of the star into a strange star. We use an energy estimate for the long-lived strangelet based on the Fermi gas model combined with the MIT bag model to set a new limit on the possible values of the WIMP mass that can be especially relevant for subdominant species of massive neutralinos.

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