1202.3378 (Andrew W. Steiner)

Deep Crustal Heating in a Multicomponent Accreted Neutron Star Crust    [PDF]

Andrew W. Steiner

A quasi-statistical equilibrium model is constructed to simulate the
multicomponent composition of the crust of an accreting neutron star. The ashes
of rp-process nucleosynthesis are driven by accretion through a series of
electron captures, neutron emissions, and pycnonuclear fusions up to densities
near the transition between the neutron star crust and core. A liquid droplet
model which includes nuclear shell effects is used to provide nuclear masses
far from stability. Reaction pathways are determined consistently with the
nuclear mass model. The nuclear symmetry energy is an important uncertainty in
the masses of the exotic nuclei in the inner crust and varying the symmetry
energy changes the amount of deep crustal heating by as much as a factor of
two.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.3378