Speaker
Description
Astronomical observations of neutron stars provide information on kilometer scales, while the nuclear interactions that govern their properties operate on femtometer scales. Describing physical processes across such vastly different length scales requires effective theoretical models. The inner crust of a neutron star is a particularly complex system, where a lattice of nuclei strongly interacts with vortices which are collective excitations in the neutron superfluid. Developing an effective description of this environment requires a detailed understanding of the vortex–nucleus pinning force.
In this work, we use a microscopic approach based on time-dependent density functional theory to study the force between a vortex and a nucleus. Using modern nuclear density functionals designed for astrophysical applications, we simulate nuclear matter across different layers of the inner crust in an unconstrained three-dimensional geometry with a volume of 500,000 fm³. We also release the raw simulation data to help bridge microscopic and mesoscopic predictions, and to support the development and benchmarking of astrophysical models such as vortex filament models.