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Quantum Crystals in Neutron Stars
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
Abstract
Using the many-body techniques appropriate for quantum crystals it is shown that the deep interior of a neutron star is most likely an orderly arrangement of neutrons, protons and hyperons forming a solid. It is shown that a liquid or gas arrangement would produce higher energy. If so, a neutron star can be viewed as two solids (crust and core) permeated by a layer of ordinary or (perhaps) superfluid liquid. Astronomical evidence is in favor of such a structure: the sudden jumps in the periods of the Crab and Vela pulsars that differ by a factor of ∼ 102 can be easily explained by the star-quake model. If the Crab is less massive than Vela (i.e., if it is not dense enough to have a solid core), the star-quakes take place in the crust whereas for Vela they occur in the core.
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- Research Article
- Information
- Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 53: Physics of Dense Matter , 1974 , pp. 133 - 150
- Copyright
- Copyright © Reidel 1974
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