arXiv:1110.5116·v1·High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Superfluid Neutrons in the Core of the Neutron Star in Cassiopeia A
Dany Page (1) · Madappa Prakash (2) · James M. Lattimer (3) · Andrew W. Steiner (4) ((1) Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, (2) Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University (3) Department of Physics and Astronomy, State University of New York at Stony Brook (4) Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington)
Abstract
The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A contains the youngest known neutron star which is also the first one for which real time cooling has ever been observed. In order to explain the rapid cooling of this neutron star, we first present the fundamental properties of neutron stars that control their thermal evolution with emphasis on the neutrino emission processes and neutron/proton superfluidity/superconductivity. Equipped with these results, we present a scenario in which the observed cooling of the neutron star in Cassiopeia A is interpreted as being due to the recent onset of neutron superfluidity in the core of the star. The manner in which the earlier occurrence of proton superconductivity determines the observed rapidity of this neutron star's cooling is highlighted. This is the first direct evidence that superfluidity and superconductivity occur at supranuclear densities within neutron stars.
Comments: Proceedings of the XXXIV edition of the Brazilian Workshop on Nuclear Physics, June 2011, Foz de Iguacu, Brasil (28 pages, 15 figures)