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Unified description of neutron superfluidity in the neutron-star crust with analogy to anisotropic multi-band BCS superconductors

par Chamel, Nicolas ;Goriely, Stéphane ;Pearson, Michael J.;Onsi, Mona
Référence Physical review. C, Nuclear physics, 81, page (045804)
Publication Publié, 2010-04-13

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

The neutron superfluidity in the inner crust of a neutron star has traditionally been studied considering either homogeneous neutron matter or a small number of nucleons confined inside the spherical Wigner-Seitz cell. Drawing analogies with the recently discovered multiband superconductors, we have solved the anisotropic multiband BCS gap equations with Bloch boundary conditions, thus providing a unified description taking consistently into account both the free neutrons and the nuclear clusters. Calculations have been carried out using the effective interaction underlying our recent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov nuclear mass model HFB-16.We have found that even though the presence of inhomogeneities lowers the neutron pairing gaps, the reduction is much less than that predicted by previous calculations using the Wigner-Seitz approximation. We have studied the disappearance of superfluidity with increasing temperature. As an application we have calculated the neutron specific heat, which is an important ingredient for modeling the thermal evolution of newly born neutron stars. This work provides a new scheme for realistic calculations of superfluidity in neutron-star crusts.