Speaker
Charles Horowitz
Description
Dense nuclear matter, near the base of the crust in neutron
stars, is expected to have complex nuclear pasta shapes
because of coulomb frustration. Competition between
short-range nuclear attraction and long-range coulomb
repulsion insures that many different shapes have very
similar energies. We report large-scale molecular dynamics
simulations of nuclear pasta and find long-lived topological
defects. These defects could increase electron pasta
scattering and reduce the electrical and thermal
conductivities. A reduced thermal conductivity may be
visible in X-ray observations of neutron star crust cooling.
A reduced electrical conductivity could lead to the decay
of magnetic fields.
