Shear viscosity in antikaon condensed matter

Abstract

We investigate the shear viscosity of neutron star matter in the presence of an antikaon condensate. The electron and muon number densities are reduced due to the appearance of a $K^{-}$ condensate in neutron star matter, whereas the proton number density increases. Consequently the shear viscosity due to scatterings of electrons and muons with themselves and protons is lowered compared to the case without the condensate. On the other hand, the contribution of proton-proton collisions to the proton shear viscosity through electromagnetic and strong interactions, becomes important and comparable to the neutron shear viscosity.

Comments: RevTeX; 22 pages including 6 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev. D