Speaker
Theo Motta
(Justus Leibig University Gießen)
Description
We investigate the possibility of a crystalline phase of dense nuclear matter as a constituent of neutron star cores. Performing a stability analysis of the most stable homogeneous ground state, we first show that symmetric nuclear matter is unlikely to manifest instabilities, however, its phase diagram is extremely likely to be almost completely embedded in a moat-regime, where the ground-state is homogeneous but correlation functions show non-trivial oscillatory patterns, reminiscent of inhomogeneous phases. Finally, we present results in beta-equilibrium and show that once hyperons are permitted to populate the system, an instability develops in the pion channel, signaling the preference of a spatially non-trivial pion condensate.
Author
Theo Motta
(Justus Leibig University Gießen)