The Impact of Neutron Transfer Reactions on the Heating and Cooling of Accreted Neutron Star Crusts

Authors

• H. Schatz, Michigan State University
• Z. Meisel, Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements
• E. F. Brown, Michigan State University
• S. S. Gupta, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
• G. W. Hitt, Coastal Carolina University
• W. R. Hix, ORNL Physics Division
• R. Jain, Michigan State University
• R. Lau, University of Hong Kong, School of Professional and Continuing Education
• P. Möller, Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements
• W. J. Ong, Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements
• P. S. Shternin, Ioffe Institute
• Y. Xu, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering
• M. Wiescher, Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2022

Abstract

Nuclear reactions heat and cool the crust of accreting neutron stars and need to be understood to interpret observations of X-ray bursts and long-term cooling in transiently accreting systems. It was recently suggested that previously ignored neutron transfer reactions may play a significant role in the nuclear processes. We present results from full nuclear network calculations that now include these reactions and determine their impact on crust composition, crust impurity, heating, and cooling. We find that a large number of neutron transfer reactions indeed occur and impact crust models. In particular, we identify a new type of reaction cycle that brings a pair of nuclei across the nuclear chart into equilibrium via alternating neutron capture and neutron release, interspersed with a neutron transfer. While neutron transfer reactions lead to changes in crust model predictions and need to be considered in future studies, previous conclusions concerning heating, cooling, and compositional evolution are remarkably robust.

Comments

American Astronomical Society originally published this article.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Schatz, H. et al., The Impact of Neutron Transfer Reactions on the Heating and Cooling of Accreted Neutron Star Crusts, The Astrophysics Journal 925 205 (2022). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac4271. Available at https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/physics-engineering/