arXiv subjects

Mark G. Alford

Publications and source records attributed to Mark G. Alford.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

On the importance of viscous dissipation and heat conduction in binary neutron-star mergers

Inferring the properties of dense matter is one of the most exciting prospects from the measurement of gravitational waves from neutron star mergers. However, it will require reliable numerical simulations that incorporate viscous dissipation and energy transport if these can play a significant role within the survival time of the post-merger object. We calculate timescales for typical forms of dissipation and find that thermal transport and shear viscosity will not be important unless neutrino trapping occurs, which requires temperatures above about 10 MeV and gradients over lengthscales of 0.1 km or less. On the other hand, if direct-Urca processes remain suppressed, leaving modified-Urca processes to establish flavor equilibrium, then bulk viscous dissipation could provide significant damping to density oscillations observed right after the merger. When comparing with data from a state-of-the-art merger simulation we find that the bulk viscosity takes values close to its resonant maximum in a typical neutron-star merger, motivating a more careful assessment of the role of bulk viscous dissipation in the gravitational-wave signal from merging neutron stars.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

On the stability of strange dwarf hybrid stars

We investigate the stability of stars with a density discontinuity between a high-density core and a very low density mantle. Previous work on "strange dwarfs" suggested that such a discontinuity could stabilize stars that would have been classified as unstable by the conventional criteria based on extrema in the mass-radius relation. We investigate the stability of such stars by numerically solving the Sturm-Liouville equations for the lowest-energy modes of the star. We find that the conventional criteria are correct, and strange dwarfs are not stable.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Gap-bridging enhancement of modified Urca processes in nuclear matter

In nuclear matter at neutron-star densities and temperatures, Cooper pairing leads to the formation of a gap in the nucleon excitation spectra resulting in exponentially strong Boltzmann suppression of many transport coefficients. Previous calculations have shown evidence that density oscillations of sufficiently large amplitude can overcome this suppression for flavor-changing $β$ processes, via the mechanism of "gap bridging". We address the simplifications made in that initial work, and show that gap bridging can counteract Boltzmann suppression of neutrino emissivity for the realistic case of modified Urca processes in matter with $^3P_2$ neutron pairing.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

Dynamics of semi-superfluid fluxtubes in color-flavor locked quark matter

At very high densities, as for example in the core of a neutron star, matter may appear in the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase, which is a superfluid. This phase features topologically stable vortex solutions, which arise in a spinning superfluid as localized configurations carrying quanta of angular momentum. Despite the topological stability of these vortices they are not the lowest energy state of the system at neutron star densities and decay into triplets of semi-superfluid fluxtubes. In these proceedings we report on the progress of our numerical study in the Ginzburg-Landau approach, where we investigate lattices of semi-superfluid fluxtubes. The fluxtubes are obtained through controlled decay of global vortex configurations in the presence of a gauge field. Understanding the dynamics of semi-superfluid string configurations is important in the context of angular momentum transfer from a quark matter core of a neutron star beyond the core boundary, since not vortex-, but fluxtube pinning seems to be the relevant mechanism in this scenario.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

Vortex structure in superfluid color-flavor locked quark matter

The core region of a neutron star may feature quark matter in the color-flavor- locked (CFL) phase. The CFL condensate breaks the baryon number symmetry, such that the phenomenon of superfluidity arises. If the core of the star is rotating, vortices will form in the superfluid, carrying the quanta of angular momentum. In a previous study we have solved the question of stability of these vortices, where we found numerical proof of a conjectured instability, according to which superfluid vortices will decay into an arrangement of so-called semi-superfluid fluxtubes. Here we report first results of an extension of our framework that allows us to study multi-vortex dynamics. This will in turn enable us to investigate the structure of semi-superfluid string lattices, which could be relevant to study pinning phenomena at the boundary of the core.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

The Constant-Sound-Speed parameterization for NJL models of quark matter in hybrid stars

The discovery of pulsars as heavy as 2 solar masses has led astrophysicists to rethink the core compositions of neutron stars, ruling out many models for the nuclear equations of state (EoS). We explore the hybrid stars that occur when hadronic matter is treated in a relativistic mean-field approximation and quark matter is modeled by three-flavor local and non-local Nambu Jona-Lasinio (NJL) models with repulsive vector interactions. The NJL models typically yield equations of state that feature a first order transition to quark matter. Assuming that the quark-hadron surface tension is high enough to disfavour mixed phases, and restricting to EoSes that allow stars to reach 2 solar masses, we find that the appearance of the quark matter core either destabilizes the star immediately (this is typical for non-local NJL models) or leads to a very short hybrid star branch in the mass-radius relation (this is typical for local NJL models). Using the Constant-Sound-Speed parametrization we can see that the reason for the near-absence of hybrid stars is that the transition pressure is fairly high and the transition is strongly first order.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

Characteristics of hybrid compact stars with a sharp hadron-quark interface

We describe two aspects of the physics of hybrid stars that have a sharp interface between a core of quark matter and a mantle of nuclear matter. Firstly, we analyze the mass-radius relation. We describe a generic "Constant Speed of Sound" (CSS) parameterization of the quark matter equation of state (EoS), in which the speed of sound is independent of density. In terms of the three parameters of the CSS EoS we obtain the phase diagram of possible forms of the hybrid star mass-radius relation, and we show how observational constraints on the maximum mass and typical radius of neutron stars can be expressed as constraints on the CSS parameters. Secondly, we propose a mechanism for the damping of density oscillations, including r-modes, in hybrid stars with a sharp interface. The dissipation arises from the periodic conversion between quark matter and nuclear matter induced by the pressure oscillations in the star. We find the damping grows nonlinearly with the amplitude of the oscillation and is powerful enough to saturate an r-mode at very low saturation amplitude, of order $10^{-10}$, which is compatible with currently-available observations of neutron star spin frequencies and temperatures.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

Stability of superfluid vortices in dense quark matter

Superfluid vortices in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase of dense quark matter are known to be energetically disfavored relative to well-separated triplets of "semi-superfluid" color flux tubes. However, the short-range interaction (metastable versus unstable) has not been established. In this paper we perform numerical calculations using the effective theory of the condensate field, mapping the regions in the parameter space of coupling constants where the vortices are metastable versus unstable. For the case of zero gauge coupling we analytically identify a candidate for the unstable mode, and show that it agrees well with the results of the numerical calculations. We find that in the region of the parameter space that seems likely to correspond to real-world CFL quark matter the vortices are unstable, indicating that if such matter exists in neutron star cores it is very likely to contain semi-superfluid color flux tubes rather than superfluid vortices.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

Ghostly action at a distance: a non-technical explanation of the Bell inequality

We give a simple non-mathematical explanation of Bell's inequality. Using the inequality, we show how the results of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) experiments violate the principle of strong locality, also known as local causality. This indicates, given some reasonable-sounding assumptions, that some sort of faster-than-light influence is present in nature. We discuss the implications, emphasizing the relationship between EPR and the Principle of Relativity, the distinction between causal influences and signals, and the tension between EPR and determinism.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Phase conversion dissipation in multicomponent compact stars

We propose a mechanism for the damping of density oscillations in multicomponent compact stars. The mechanism is the periodic conversion between different phases, i.e., the movement of the interface between them, induced by pressure oscillations in the star. The damping grows nonlinearly with the amplitude of the oscillation. We study in detail the case of r-modes in a hybrid star with a sharp interface, and we find that this mechanism is powerful enough to saturate the r-mode at very low saturation amplitude, of order $10^{-10}$, and is therefore likely to be the dominant r-mode saturation mechanism in hybrid stars with a sharp interface.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2015

Constraining and applying a generic high-density equation of state

We discuss the "constant speed of sound" (CSS) parametrization of the equation of state of high-density matter and its application to the field correlator method (FCM) model of quark matter. We show how observational constraints on the maximum mass and typical radius of neutron stars are expressed as constraints on the CSS parameters. We find that the observation of a $2\,M_{\odot}$ star already severely constrains the CSS parameters, and is particularly difficult to accommodate if the squared speed of sound in the high-density phase is assumed to be around $1/3$ or less. We show that the FCM equation of state can be accurately represented by the CSS parametrization, which assumes a sharp transition to a high-density phase with density-independent speed of sound. We display the mapping between the FCM and CSS parameters, and see that FCM only allows equations of state in a restricted subspace of the CSS parameters.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2014

What the Timing of Millisecond Pulsars Can Teach us about Their Interior

The cores of compact stars reach the highest densities in nature and therefore could consist of novel phases of matter. We demonstrate via a detailed analysis of pulsar evolution that precise pulsar timing data can constrain the star's composition, through unstable global oscillations (r-modes) whose damping is determined by microscopic properties of the interior. If not efficiently damped, these modes emit gravitational waves that quickly spin down a millisecond pulsar. As a first application of this general method, we find that ungapped interacting quark matter is consistent with both the observed radio and x-ray data, whereas for ordinary nuclear matter some additional enhanced damping mechanism is required.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Transport coefficients of two-flavor superconducting quark matter

Background: The two-flavor color superconducting (2SC) phase of quark matter is a possible constituent of the core of neutron stars. To assess its impact on the observable behavior of the star one must analyze transport properties, which in 2SC matter are controlled by the scattering of gapless fermionic modes by each other and possibly also by color-magnetic flux tubes. Purpose: We determine the electrical and thermal conductivities and the shear viscosity of 2SC matter. Methods: We use a variational formulation of transport theory, treating the strong and electromagnetic interactions via a weak coupling expansion. Results: We provide the leading order scaling of the transport coefficients with temperature and chemical potential as well as accurate fits to our numerical results. We also find that the scattering of fermions by color-magnetic flux tubes is insignificant for thermal conductivity, but may contribute to the electrical conductivity and shear viscosity in the limit of very low temperature or high magnetic field. We also estimate the transport coefficients in unpaired quark matter. Conclusions: Our calculation has set the stage for exploration of possible signatures of the presence of 2SC quark matter in neutron stars.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Probing dense matter in compact star cores with radio pulsar data

Astrophysical observations of compact stars provide, in addition to collider experiments, the other big source of information on matter under extreme conditions. The largest and most precise data set about neutron stars is the timing data of radio pulsars. We show how this unique data can be used to learn about the ultra-dense matter in the compact star interior. The method relies on astro-seismology based on special global oscillation modes (r-modes) that emit gravitational waves. They would prevent pulsars from spinning with their observed high frequencies, unless the damping of these modes, determined by the microscopic properties of matter, can prevent this. We show that for each form of matter there is a distinct region in a frequency/spindown-rate diagram where r-modes can be present. We find that stars containing ungapped quark matter are consistent with both the observed radio and x-ray data, whereas, even when taking into account the considerable uncertainties, neutron star models with standard viscous damping are inconsistent with both data sets and additional damping mechanisms would be required.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2014

Gravitational wave emission from oscillating millisecond pulsars

Neutron stars undergoing r-mode oscillation emit gravitational radiation that might be detected on earth. For known millisecond pulsars the observed spindown rate imposes an upper limit on the possible gravitational wave signal of these sources. Taking into account the physics of r-mode evolution, we show that only sources spinning at frequencies above a few hundred Hertz can be unstable to r-modes, and we derive a more stringent universal r-mode spindown limit on their gravitational wave signal, exploiting the fact that the r-mode saturation amplitude is insensitive to the structural properties of individual sources. We find that this refined bound limits the gravitational wave strain from millisecond pulsars to values below the detection sensitivity of next-generation detectors. Young sources are therefore a more promising option for the detection of gravitational waves emitted by r-modes and to probe the interior composition of compact stars in the near future.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Role reversal in first and second sound in a relativistic superfluid

Relativistic superfluidity at arbitrary temperature, chemical potential and (uniform) superflow is discussed within a self-consistent field-theoretical approach. Our starting point is a complex scalar field with a $φ^4$ interaction, for which we calculate the 2-particle-irreducible effective action in the Hartree approximation. With this underlying microscopic theory, we can obtain the two-fluid picture of a superfluid, and compute properties such as the superfluid density and the entrainment coefficient for all temperatures below the critical temperature for superfluidity. We compute the critical velocity, taking into account the full self-consistent effect of the temperature and superflow on the quasiparticle dispersion. We also discuss first and second sound modes and how first (second) sound evolves from a density (temperature) wave at low temperatures to a temperature (density) wave at high temperatures. This role reversal is investigated for ultra-relativistic and near-non-relativistic systems for zero and nonzero superflow. For nonzero superflow, we also observe a role reversal as a function of the direction of the sound wave.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Gravitational wave emission and spindown of young pulsars

The rotation frequencies of young pulsars are systematically below their theoretical Kepler limit. R-modes have been suggested as a possible explanation for this observation. With the help of semi-analytic expressions that make it possible to assess the uncertainties of the r-mode scenario due to the impact of uncertainties in underlying microphysics, we perform a quantitative analysis of the spin-down and the emitted gravitational waves of young pulsars. We find that the frequency to which r-modes spin down a young neutron star is surprisingly insensitive both to the microscopic details and the saturation amplitude. Comparing our result to astrophysical data, we show that for a range of sufficiently large saturation amplitudes r-modes provide a viable spindown scenario and that all observed young pulsars are very likely already outside the r-mode instability region. Therefore the most promising sources for gravitational wave detection are unobserved neutron stars associated with recent supernovae, and we find that advanced LIGO should be able to see several of them. We find the remarkable result that the gravitational wave strain amplitude is completely independent of both the r-mode saturation amplitude and the microphysics, and depends on the saturation mechanism only within some tens of per cent. However, the gravitational wave frequency depends on the amplitude and we provide the required expected timing parameter ranges to look for promising sources in future searches.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Generic conditions for stable hybrid stars

We study the mass-radius curve of hybrid stars, assuming a single first-order phase transition between nuclear and quark matter, with a sharp interface between the quark matter core and nuclear matter mantle. We use a generic parameterization of the quark matter equation of state, which has a constant, i.e. density-independent, speed of sound ("CSS"). We argue that this parameterization provides a framework for comparison and empirical testing of models of quark matter. We obtain the phase diagram of possible forms of the hybrid star mass-radius relation, where the control parameters are the transition pressure, energy density discontinuity, and the quark matter speed of sound. We find that this diagram is sensitive to the quark matter parameters but fairly insensitive to details of the nuclear matter equation of state. We calculate the maximum hybrid star mass as a function of the parameters of the quark matter EoS, and find that there are reasonable values of those parameters that give rise to hybrid stars with mass above $2\,M_\odot$.

astro-ph.SR↗