The 1S0 Pairing Gap in Neutron Matter

Stefano Gandolfi, Georgios Palkanoglou, Joseph Carlson, Alexandros Gezerlis, Kevin E. Schmidt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report ab initio calculations of the S wave pairing gap in neutron matter calculated using realistic nuclear Hamiltonians that include two- and three-body interactions. We use a trial state, properly optimized to capture the essential pairing correlations, from which we extract ground state properties by means of auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo simulations. We extrapolate our results to the thermodynamic limit by studying the finite-size effects in the symmetry-restored projected Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (PBCS) theory and compare our results to other ab initio studies done in the past. Our quantum Monte Carlo results for the pairing gap show a modest suppression with respect to the mean-field BCS values. These results can be connected to cold atom experiments, via the unitarity regime where fermionic superfluidity assumes a unified description, and they are important in the prediction of thermal properties and the cooling of neutron stars.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number19
JournalCondensed Matter
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2022

Keywords

  • Ab initio
  • BCS
  • Cold atoms
  • Neutron matter
  • Neutron star
  • Pairing
  • Quantum monte carlo
  • Superfluidity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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