Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

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MS: Fachverband Massenspektrometrie

MS 1: Precision Mass Spectrometry 1

MS 1.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 23, 2015, 11:30–12:00, PH/HS2

Nuclear Masses and Neutron Stars — •Jürgen Schaffner-Bielich — Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main

Neutron stars are born in the aftermath of the explosion of massive stars in core-collapse supernovae. Stabilized by nuclear forces these compact stars can withstand the gravitational pull. During cool-down a crust forms at the outer layer of the neutron star consisting of a lattice of nuclei immersed in a surrounding bath of electrons thereby ensuring overall charge neutrality. The high electron degeneracy pressure enables neutron-rich nuclei to be stabilized in the neutron star crust which would be short-lived exotic isotopes in a terrestrial laboratory. In beta-equilibrium, it can be shown that the sequence of nuclei in the outer crust of neutron stars is solely determined by their masses. We report on the recent advances of measuring masses of neutron-rich isotopes and on determining their impact on the composition of the outer crust of neutron stars. A brief glimpse on the possible composition of the core of neutron stars and their relation to nuclear physics experiments are given as well as an outlook for future astrophysical observations of neutron stars.