Complete relativistic equation of state for neutron stars

Abstract

We construct the equation of state (EOS) in a wide density range for neutron stars using the relativistic mean field theory. The properties of neutron star matter with both uniform and non-uniform distributions are studied consistently. The inclusion of hyperons considerably softens the EOS at high densities. The Thomas-Fermi approximation is used to describe the non-uniform matter, which is composed of a lattice of heavy nuclei. The phase transition from uniform matter to non-uniform matter occurs around $0.06\mathrm{f}{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$, and the free neutrons drip out of nuclei at about $2.4\times 10^{-4}\mathrm{f}{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$. We apply the resulting EOS to investigate the neutron star properties such as maximum mass and composition of neutron stars.

Comments: 23 pages, REVTeX, 9 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. C