Nuclear Energy-Density Functional Approach to Bridging Neutron-Rich Nuclei and Neutron Stars

Understanding the properties of neutron-rich nuclei has been a central subject in low-energy nuclear physics. The great interest lies not only in the pursuit of a variety of structures and the elucidation of the mechanisms of their occurrence but also in obtaining insights into the structure of the inner crust of neutron stars. With advances in neutron-star observation techniques, the structure of neutron stars has been becoming better understood. The data accumulated from these observations unveil properties of neutron-rich matter that are otherwise inaccessible through terrestrial experiments.

In this talk, I will introduce an attempt to construct a nuclear energy-density functional (EDF) inspired by the observations and then demonstrate its applicability to nuclear structure problems, including mass and deformation. One intriguing aspect of neutron stars is the emergence of superfluidity, especially the occurrence of spin-triplet pairing. I will discuss the unconventional pairing in nuclei within the nuclear EDF framework and give perspectives on the study of the phase diagram of the superfluidity in neutron stars.

This seminar is co-hosted by UKAKUREN.