Paper (*cross-listing*): nucl-th/0512020
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 20:04:09 GMT (810kb)

Title: Recent progress on understanding "pasta" phases in dense stars

Authors: Gentaro Watanabe, Hidetaka Sonoda

Comments: 11 pages, 9 figures, references added, published in the Proceedings
of the 2nd Argonne/MSU/JINA/INT RIA Workshop on "Reaction Mechanisms for Rare
Isotope Beams", ed. B. A. Brown

Report-no: NORDITA-2005-77

Journal-ref: AIP Conf. Proc. 791, 101-111 (2005)

DOI: 10.1063/1.2114698
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In cores of supernovae and crusts of neutron stars, nuclei can adopt
interesting shapes, such as rods or slabs, etc., which are referred to as
nuclear "pasta." Recently, we have been studying the pasta phases focusing on
their dynamical aspects with quantum molecular dynamic (QMD) approach. We
review our findings on the following topics: dynamical formation of the pasta
phases by cooling down the hot uniform nuclear matter; a phase diagram on the
density versus temperature plane; structural transitions between the pasta
phases induced by compression and their mechanism. Properties of the nuclear
interaction used in our works are also discussed.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/nucl-th/0512020 , 810kb)