Phase diagram of dilute cosmic matter

Abstract

Enhancement of nuclear pasta formation due to multi-nucleus simultaneous collision is presented based on time-dependent density functional calculations with periodic boundary condition. This calculation corresponds to the situation with density lower than the known low-density existence limit of the nuclear pasta phase. In order to evaluate the contribution from three-nucleus simultaneous collisions inside the cosmic matter, the possibility of multi-nucleus simultaneous collisions is examined by a systematic Monte-Carlo calculation, and the mean free path of a nucleus is obtained. Consequently the low-density existence limit of the nuclear pasta phase is formed to be lower than believed up to now.

Comments: Modification [02/2012] to the mistake in the density representation of Monte-Carlo results; Right panel of Fig. 2, Table 1, and so on. No change is necessary to the conclusion