arXiv subjects

Liam Brodie

Publications and source records attributed to Liam Brodie.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Enhanced Neutrino Cooling from Parity-Doubled Nucleons in Neutron Star Cooling Simulations

Although restoration of chiral symmetry is predicted by quantum chromodynamics to take place at high baryon density, most modeling of neutron star interiors disregards a chiral phase transition. We model neutron star cores with a parity doublet model, which allows for dynamical chiral symmetry restoration and predicts the appearance of the parity partners of nucleons and hyperons at large densities, as well as deconfined quark matter. We study the thermal evolution of neutron stars, focusing for the first time on the impact of Urca processes involving the parity partners in neutron star cooling simulations. We find that Urca processes for the parity partners of the nucleons significantly affect the thermal evolution of massive stars and allow for improved agreement with observed surface temperature and ages.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Thermalization of Neutrinos in a Neutron Star Merger Simulation

We study the neutrino distributions that arise in a simulation of a neutron star merger that uses a Monte Carlo (MC) neutrino transport scheme. In a snapshot taken 1 ms after merger, we calculate relevant observables to test when neutrinos behave like a thermalized gas, and when a free-streaming picture is more appropriate. We find that in hot, dense regions where neutrino-matter interactions are frequent, MC neutrino and antineutrino distributions are consistent with thermalized neutrinos. In moderately warm regions, where neither approximation is expected to hold, we find significant departures from the predictions of the thermalized-neutrino approximation, particularly for the (anti)neutrino average opacity and net rate of absorption per baryon, even when average energies appear approximately thermal. At lower temperatures, MC results approach the free-streaming limit. Our results demonstrate that energy-averaged agreement with thermalized-neutrino assumptions does not guarantee accurate weak interaction rates. Non-equilibrium aspects of the neutrino distribution are therefore crucial for neutrino-mediated microphysics such as composition evolution in the early post-merger phase.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

General-relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of binary neutron star mergers: The influence of spin on the multi-messenger picture

The rich phenomenology of binary neutron star mergers offers a unique opportunity to test general relativity, investigate matter at supranuclear densities, and learn more about the origin of heavy elements. As multi-messenger sources, they emit both gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation across several frequency bands. The interpretation of these signals relies heavily on accurate numerical-relativity simulations that incorporate the relevant microphysical processes. Using the latest updates of the BAM code, we perform general-relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of binary neutron star mergers with two different spin configurations. We adopt a state-of-the-art equation of state based on relativistic mean-field theory developed for dense matter in neutron star mergers. To capture both dynamical ejecta and secular outflows from magnetic and neutrino-driven winds, we evolve the systems up to $\sim 100\ \rm ms$ after the merger at considerably high resolution with a grid spacing of $\Delta x \approx 93\ \rm m$ across the neutron stars. Our results show that the non-spinning configuration undergoes a more violent merger, producing more ejecta with lower electron fraction and higher velocities, while the spinning configuration forms a larger disk due to its higher angular momentum. Although the initial magnetic field amplification within $\lesssim 10\ \rm ms$ after merger is similar in both systems, the non-spinning system reaches stronger magnetic fields and higher energies at later times. For a detailed view of the multi-messenger observables, we extract the gravitational-wave signal and compute nucleosynthesis yields, the expected kilonova and afterglow light curves from our ejecta profiles.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Neutrino absorption in two-flavor color-superconducting quark matter

We calculate the absorption mean free paths of electron and muon neutrinos in two-flavor color-superconducting (2SC) quark matter in the density and temperature range that is relevant to binary neutron star mergers. We model the strong interaction between quarks using a Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model, performing calculations self-consistently in the mean-field approximation. Since the 2SC gap is large we restrict our analysis to the contribution of unpaired quarks. We find that at low temperatures absorption by a down quark $\nu+d \to u+e^-/\mu^-$ is kinematically not allowed, so absorption by a strange quark $\nu+s \to u+e^-/\mu^-$ dominates the mean free path. As temperature or neutrino energy rises, the $d$ quark absorption channel becomes active, and the mean free path shrinks. We find that in equilibrated 2SC matter with an electron lepton fraction $Y_{L_e}=0.1$, the neutrinos form a degenerate gas with a mean free path of meters or less, independent of the temperature.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Nonparametric extensions of nuclear equations of state: probing the breakdown scale of relativistic mean-field theory

Phenomenological calculations of the properties of dense matter, such as relativistic mean-field theories, represent a pathway to predicting the microscopic and macroscopic properties of neutron stars. However, such theories do not generically have well-controlled uncertainties and may break down within neutron stars. To faithfully represent the uncertainty in this breakdown scale, we develop a hybrid representation of the dense-matter equation of state, which assumes the form of a relativistic mean-field theory at low densities, while remaining agnostic to any nuclear theory at high densities. To achieve this, we use a nonparametric equation of state model to incorporate the correlations of the underlying relativistic mean-field theory equation of state at low pressures and transition to more flexible correlations above some chosen pressure scale. We perform astrophysical inference under various choices of the transition pressure between the theory-informed and theory-agnostic models. We further study whether the chosen relativistic mean-field theory breaks down above some particular pressure and find no such evidence. Using simulated data for future astrophysical observations at about two-to-three times the precision of current constraints, we show that our method can identify the breakdown pressure associated with a potential strong phase transition.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Parity-doubled nucleons can rapidly cool neutron stars

In confined hadronic matter, the spontaneous breaking and restoration of chiral symmetry can be described by considering nucleons, $N_{+}(939)$, and excited states of opposite parity, $N_{-}(1535)$. In a cold, dense hadronic phase where chiral symmetry remains spontaneously broken, direct Urca decay processes involving the $N_{-}$ are possible, e.g. $N_- \rightarrow N_+ + e^- + \bar{\nu}_e$. We show that at low temperature and moderate densities, because the $N_-$ is much heavier than the $N_+$, such cooling dominates over standard $N_+$ direct Urca processes. This provides a strong astrophysical signature of the pattern of chiral symmetry restoration in neutron stars.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Validity of a finite temperature expansion for dense nuclear matter

In this work we provide a new, well-controlled expansion of the equation of state of dense matter from zero to finite temperatures ($T$) while covering a wide range of charge fractions ($Y_Q$), from pure neutron to isospin symmetric nuclear matter. Our expansion can be used to describe neutron star mergers using the equation of state inferred from neutron star observations. We discuss how knowledge from low-energy nuclear experiments and heavy-ion collisions can be directly incorporated into the expansion. We also suggest new thermodynamic quantities of interest that can be calculated from theoretical models or directly inferred by experimental data that can be used to infer the finite temperature equation of state. With our new method, we can quantify the uncertainty in our finite $T$ and $Y_Q$ expansions without making assumptions about the underlying degrees of freedom. We can reproduce results from a microscopic equation of state up to $T=100$ MeV for baryon chemical potential $\mu_B\gtrsim 1100$ MeV ($\sim1-2 \ n_{\rm sat}$) within $5\%$ error, with even better results for larger $\mu_B$ and/or lower $T$. We investigate the sources of numerical and theoretical uncertainty and discuss future directions of study.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Tabulated Equations of State From Models Informed by Chiral Effective Field Theory

We construct four equation of state (EoS) tables, tabulated over a range of temperatures, densities, and charge fractions, relevant for neutron star applications such as simulations of neutron star mergers. The EoS are computed from a relativistic mean-field theory constrained by the pure neutron matter EoS from chiral effective field theory, inferred properties of isospin-symmetric nuclear matter, and astrophysical observations of neutron star structure. To model nuclear matter at low densities, we attach an EoS that models inhomogeneous nuclear matter at arbitrary temperatures and charge fractions. The four EoS tables we develop are available from the CompOSE EoS repository compose.obspm.fr/eos/297 and gitlab.com/ahaber/qmc-rmf-tables.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2023

Nuclear and Hybrid Equations of State in Light of the Low-Mass Compact Star in HESS J1731-347

We sample over $500$ relativistic mean-field theories constrained by chiral effective field theory and properties of isospin-symmetric nuclear matter and test them against known stellar structure constraints. This includes a recent mass and radius measurement of a compact object in supernova remnant HESS J1731-347, with an unusually low mass of $M=0.77^{+0.20}_{-0.17}\,M_{\odot}$ and a compact radius of $R=10.4^{+0.86}_{-0.78}$ km. We show that none of the sampled nuclear models meet all constraints at the $68\,\%$ credibility level, but that hybrid equations of state with a quark matter inner core and nuclear outer core easily can. This indicates a tension between astrophysical constraints and low-energy nuclear theory.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2022

Relativistic mean-field theories for neutron-star physics based on chiral effective field theory

We describe and implement a procedure for determining the couplings of a Relativistic Mean-Field Theory (RMFT) that is optimized for application to neutron star phenomenology. In the standard RMFT approach, the couplings are constrained by comparing the theory's predictions for symmetric matter at saturation density with measured nuclear properties. The theory is then applied to neutron stars which consist of neutron-rich matter at densities ranging up to several times saturation density, which allows for additional astrophysical constraints. In our approach, rather than using the RMFT to extrapolate from symmetric to neutron-rich matter and from finite-sized nuclei to uniform matter, we fit the RMFT to properties of uniform pure neutron matter obtained from chiral effective field theory. Chiral effective field theory incorporates the experimental data for nuclei in the framework of a controlled expansion for nuclear forces valid at nuclear densities and enables us to account for theoretical uncertainties when fitting the RMFT. We construct four simple RMFTs that span the uncertainties provided by chiral effective field theory for neutron matter, and are consistent with current astrophysical constraints on the equation of state. Our RMFTs can be used to model the properties of neutron-rich matter across the vast range of densities and temperatures encountered in neutron stars and their mergers.

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