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Kei Iida

Publications and source records attributed to Kei Iida.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Probing the Equation of State of Nuclear Matter via Neutron Star Asteroseismology

We general relativistically calculate the frequency of fundamental torsional oscillations of neutron star crusts, where we focus on the crystalline properties obtained from macroscopic nuclear models in a way depending on the equation of state of nuclear matter. We find that the calculated frequency is sensitive to the density dependence of the symmetry energy, but almost independent of the incompressibility of symmetric nuclear matter. By identifying the lowest-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation in giant flares observed from soft gamma-ray repeaters as the fundamental torsional mode and allowing for the dependence of the calculated frequency on stellar models, we provide a lower limit of the density derivative of the symmetry energy as $L\simeq 50$ MeV.

astro-ph.HE↗

Curvature effect on nuclear pasta: Is it helpful for gyroid appearance?

In supernova cores and neutron star crusts, nuclei are thought to deform to rodlike and slablike shapes, which are often called nuclear pasta. We study the equilibrium properties of the nuclear pasta by using a liquid drop model with curvature corrections. It is confirmed that the curvature effect acts to lower the transition densities between different shapes. We also examine the gyroid structure, which was recently suggested as a different type of nuclear pasta by analogy with the polymer systems. The gyroid structure investigated in this paper is approximately formulated as an extension of the periodic minimal surface whose mean curvature vanishes. In contrast to our expectations, we find from the present approximate formulation that the curvature corrections act to slightly disfavor the appearance of the gyroid structure. By comparing the energy corrections in the gyroid phase and the hypothetical phases composed of d-dimensional spheres, where d is a general dimensionality, we show that the gyroid is unlikely to belong to a family of the generalized dimensional spheres.

nucl-th↗

Proton inelastic diffraction by a black nucleus and the size of excited nuclei

We systematically derive a length scale characterizing the size of a low-lying, beta stable nucleus from empirical data for the diffraction peak angle in the proton inelastic differential cross section of incident energy of \sim 1 GeV. In doing so, we assume that the target nucleus in the ground state is a completely absorptive "black" sphere of radius a. The cross section πa^2, where a is determined in such a way as to reproduce the empirical proton diffraction peak angle in the elastic channel, is known to agree with empirical total reaction cross sections for incident protons to within error bars. By comparing the inelastic diffraction patterns obtained in the Fraunhofer approximation with the experimental ones, one can likewise derive the black sphere radius a_l for the excited state with spin l. We find that for ^{12}C, ^{58,60,62,64}Ni, and ^{208}Pb, the value of a_l obtained from the inelastic channel is generally larger than the value of a from the elastic channel and tends to increase with the excitation energy. This increase is remarkable for the Hoyle state. Finally, we discuss the relation between a_l and the size of excited nuclei.

nucl-th↗

Neutron drip line and the equation of state of nuclear matter

We investigate how the neutron drip line is related to the density dependence of the symmetry energy, by using a macroscopic nuclear model that allows us to calculate nuclear masses in a way dependent on the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter. The neutron drip line obtained from these masses is shown to appreciably shift to a neutron-rich side in a nuclear chart as the density derivative of the symmetry energy increases. Such shift is clearly seen for light nuclei, a feature coming mainly from the surface property of neutron-rich nuclei.

nucl-th↗

Symmetry energy at subnuclear densities deduced from nuclear masses

We examine how nuclear masses are related to the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Using a macroscopic nuclear model we calculate nuclear masses in a way dependent on the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter. We find by comparison with empirical two-proton separation energies that a smaller symmetry energy at subnuclear densities, corresponding to a larger density symmetry coefficient L, is favored. This tendency, which is clearly seen for nuclei that are neutron-rich, nondeformed, and light, can be understood from the property of the surface symmetry energy in a compressible liquid-drop picture.

nucl-th↗

Difference between interaction cross sections and reaction cross sections

We revisit the commonly accepted notion that the difference between interaction and reaction cross sections is negligible at relativistic energies, and show that, especially in small mass number region, it is large enough to help probe nuclear structure. For analyses of the difference, we construct "pseudo data" for the reaction cross sections using a phenomenological black-sphere model of nuclei since empirical data are very limited at high energies. The comparison with the empirical interaction cross sections suggests a significant difference between the reaction and interaction cross sections for stable projectiles on a carbon target, which is of the order of 0-100 mb.

nucl-th↗

Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell state in two-color quark matter

We explore the phase structure of two-color and two-flavor QCD in the space of the quark chemical potential μ_q and the isospin chemical potential μ_I. Using a mean-field model we calculate the chiral and diquark condensates, σand Δ, self-consistently. In weak coupling and in the chiral limit, we confirm the interval of the isospin chemical potential, 0.71Δ_0<μ_I<0.75Δ_0, in which a single plane-wave Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) phase is favored over isotropic superfluidity and normal quark matter. The LOFF window becomes slightly wider at high density. For stronger coupling with nonzero quark mass, which is relevant to currently available numerical simulations in lattice two-color QCD, the single plane-wave LOFF phase appears only at sufficiently high density. The prediction obtained for the LOFF region could be tested with lattice since we can prove that the present system is free from the fermion sign problem. We draw the energy landscape on which local minima corresponding to the isotropic superfluid phase and the LOFF phase and a local maximum corresponding to the gapless phase are manifest. Our results clearly illustrate the path from the the unstable gapless phase down to the LOFF phase.

hep-ph↗

The symmetry energy at subnuclear densities and nuclei in neutron star crusts

We examine how the properties of inhomogeneous nuclear matter at subnuclear densities depend on the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Using a macroscopic nuclear model we calculate the size and shape of nuclei in neutron star matter at zero temperature in a way dependent on the density dependence of the symmetry energy. We find that for smaller symmetry energy at subnuclear densities, corresponding to larger density symmetry coefficient L, the charge number of nuclei is smaller, and the critical density at which matter with nuclei or bubbles becomes uniform is lower. The decrease in the charge number is associated with the dependence of the surface tension on the nuclear density and the density of a sea of neutrons, while the decrease in the critical density can be generally understood in terms of proton clustering instability in uniform matter.

nucl-th↗

Instability of a gapless color superconductor with respect to inhomogeneous fluctuations

We systematically apply density functional theory to determine the kind of inhomogeneities that spontaneously develop in a homogeneous gapless phase of neutral two-flavor superfluid quark matter. We consider inhomogeneities in the quark and electron densities and in the phases and amplitude of the order parameter. These inhomogeneities are expected to lead the gapless phase to a BCS-normal coexisting phase, a Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) state with phase oscillations alone, and a LOFF state with amplitude oscillations. We find that which of them the homogeneous system tends towards depends sensitively on the chemical potential separation between up and down quarks and the gradient energies.

hep-ph↗

Formula for proton-nucleus reaction cross section at intermediate energies and its application

We construct a formula for proton-nucleus total reaction cross section as a function of the mass and neutron excess of the target nucleus and the proton incident energy. We deduce the dependence of the cross section on the mass number and the proton incident energy from a simple argument involving the proton optical depth within the framework of a black sphere approximation of nuclei, while we describe the neutron excess dependence by introducing the density derivative of the symmetry energy, L, on the basis of a radius formula constructed from macroscopic nuclear models. We find that the cross section formula can reproduce the energy dependence of the cross section measured for stable nuclei without introducing any adjustable energy dependent parameter. We finally discuss whether or not the reaction cross section is affected by an extremely low density tail of the neutron distribution for halo nuclei.

nucl-th↗

Feedback effects on the pairing interaction in color superconductors near the transition temperature

We examine the role that the gap dependence of the pairing interaction plays in the gap equation for a weakly coupled uniform superfluid of three-flavor massless quarks near the transition temperature T_c. We find that the feedback effects on Landau-damped transverse gluons mediating the pairing interaction alter the gap magnitude in a way dependent on the color structure of the gap. We estimate corrections by these effects to the parameters characterizing the fourth order terms in the Ginzburg-Landau free energy and ensure the stability of a color-flavor locked state near T_c.

hep-ph↗

Collective excitations in a superfluid of color-flavor locked quark matter

We investigate collective excitations coupled with baryon density in a system of massless three-flavor quarks in the collisionless regime. By using the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model in the mean-field approximation, we derive the spectra both for the normal and color-flavor locked (CFL) superfluid phases at zero temperature. In the normal phase, we obtain zero sound as a low-lying collective mode in the particle-hole (vector) channel. In the CFL phase, when the excitation energy, $ω$, is smaller than the threshold given by twice the pairing gap $Δ$ ($ω<2Δ$), a phonon corresponding to fluctuations in the U(1) phase of $Δ$ appears as a sharp peak in the particle-particle ($H$) channel. We reproduce the property known from low energy effective theories that this mode propagates at a velocity of $v_H=1/\sqrt{3}$ in the low momentum regime; the decay constant $f_H$ in the NJL model is identical with the QCD result in the mean-field approximation. We also find that as the momentum of the phonon increases, the excitation energy goes up and asymptotically approaches $ω=2Δ$. Above the threshold for pair excitations ($ω>2Δ$), zero sound manifests itself in the vector channel. By locating the zero sound pole of the vector propagator in the complex energy plane we investigate the attenuation and energy dispersion relation of zero sound. In the long wavelength limit, the phonon mode has its spectral weight in the $H$ channel alone, while the spectral function vanishes in the vector channel. We finally extend our study to the case of nonzero temperature.

hep-ph↗

Reaction cross section described by a black sphere approximation of nuclei

We identify a length scale that simultaneously accounts for the observed proton-nucleus reaction cross section and diffraction peak in the proton elastic differential cross section. This scale is the nuclear radius, $a$, deduced from proton elastic scattering data of incident energies higher than $\sim800$ MeV, by assuming that the target nucleus is a ``black'' sphere. The values of $a$ are determined so as to reproduce the angle of the first diffraction maximum in the scattering data for stable nuclei. We find that the absorption cross section, $πa^2$, agrees with the empirical total reaction cross section for C, Sn, and Pb to within error bars. This agreement persists in the case of the interaction cross section measured for a carbon target. We also find that $\sqrt{3/5}a$ systematically deviates from the empirically deduced values of the root-mean-square matter radius for nuclei having mass less than about 50, while it almost completely agrees with the deduced values for $A\gtrsim50$. This tendency suggests a significant change of the nuclear matter distribution from a rectangular one for $A\lesssim50$, which is consistent with the behavior of the empirical charge distribution.

nucl-th↗

Magnetic vortex in color-flavor locked quark matter

Within Ginzburg-Landau theory, we study the structure of a magnetic vortex in color-flavor locked quark matter. This vortex is characterized by winding of the SU(3) phase in color-flavor space, as well as by the presence of a color-flavor unlocked condensate in the core. We estimate the upper and lower critical fields and the critical Ginzburg-Landau parameter that distinguishes between type I and type II superconductors.

hep-ph↗

Thermal fluctuations of gauge fields and first order phase transitions in color superconductivity

We study the effects of thermal fluctuations of gluons and the diquark pairing field on the superconducting-to-normal state phase transition in a three-flavor color superconductor, using the Ginzburg-Landau free energy. At high baryon densities, where the system is a type I superconductor, gluonic fluctuations, which dominate over diquark fluctuations, induce a cubic term in the Ginzburg-Landau free energy, as well as large corrections to quadratic and quartic terms of the order parameter. The cubic term leads to a relatively strong first order transition, in contrast with the very weak first order transitions in metallic type I superconductors. The strength of the first order transition decreases with increasing baryon density. In addition gluonic fluctuations lower the critical temperature of the first order transition. We derive explicit formulas for the critical temperature and the discontinuity of the order parameter at the critical point. The validity of the first order transition obtained in the one-loop approximation is also examined by estimating the size of the critical region.

hep-ph↗

Nuclear radius deduced from proton diffraction by a black nucleus

We find a new method to deduce nuclear radii from proton-nucleus elastic scattering data. In this method a nucleus is viewed as a ``black'' sphere. A diffraction pattern of protons by this sphere is equivalent to that of the Fraunhofer diffraction by a circular hole of the same radius embedded in a screen. We determine the black sphere radius in such a way as to reproduce the empirical value of the angle of the observed first diffraction peak. It is useful to identify this radius multiplied by $\sqrt{3/5}$ with the root-mean-square matter radius of the target nucleus. For most of stable isotopes of masses heavier than 50, it agrees, within the error bars, with the values that were deduced in previous elaborate analyses from the data obtained at proton incident energies higher than $\sim 800$ MeV.

nucl-th↗

Proton-nucleus elastic scattering and the equation of state of nuclear matter

We calculate differential cross sections for proton-nucleus elastic scattering by using a Glauber theory in the optical limit approximation and nucleon distributions that can be obtained in the framework of macroscopic nuclear models in a way dependent on the equation of state of uniform nuclear matter near the saturation density. We find that the peak angle calculated for unstable neutron-rich nuclei in the small momentum transfer regime increases as the parameter L characterizing the density dependence of the symmetry energy decreases. This is a feature associated with the L dependence of the predicted matter radii.

nucl-th↗