2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | 1983 | 1982 | 1981 | 1980 | 1979 | 1978 | 1977 | 1976 | 1975 | 1974 | 1973 | 1972 | 1971 | 1970 | 1969 | 1968 | 1967 | 1966 | 1965 | 1964 | 1963 | 1962 | 1961 | 500 | 76 | 0

Nuclear symmetry energy and the r-mode instability of neutron stars

Authors: I. Vidaña

Ref.: Physical Review C 85, 045808 (2012)

Abstract: We analyze the role of the symmetry energy slope parameter L on the r-mode instability of neutron stars. Our study is performed using both microscopic and phenomenological approaches of the nuclear equation of state. The microscopic ones include the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approximation, the well known variational equation of state of Akmal, Pandharipande, and Ravenhall, and a parametrization of recent auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. For the phenomenological approaches, we use several Skyrme forces and relativistic mean-field models. Our results show that the r-mode instability region is smaller for those models which give larger values of L. The reason is that both bulk (ξ) and shear (η) viscosities increase with L and, therefore, the damping of the mode is more efficient for the models with larger L. We show also that the dependence of both viscosities on L can be described at each density by simple power-laws of the type ξ=AξLBξ and η=AηLBη. Using the measured spin frequency and the estimated core temperature of the pulsar in the low-mass x-ray binary 4U 1608-52, we conclude that observational data seem to favor values of L larger than ∼50 MeV if this object is assumed to be outside the instability region, its radius is in the range 11.5–12 (11.5–13) km, and its mass 1.4M⊙ (2M⊙). Outside this range it is not possible to draw any conclusion on L from this pulsar.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.85.045808