https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2014-14010-5
Review
The equation of state of neutron matter, symmetry energy and neutron star structure
1
Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, Los Alamos, NM, USA
2
Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, 98195, Seattle, WA, USA
3
Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 60439, Argonne, IL, USA
* e-mail: stefano@lanl.gov
Received:
19
July
2013
Revised:
29
August
2013
Accepted:
4
September
2013
Published online:
25
February
2014
We review the calculation of the equation of state of pure neutron matter using quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. QMC algorithms permit the study of many-body nuclear systems using realistic two- and three-body forces in a non-perturbative framework. We present the results for the equation of state of neutron matter, and focus on the role of three-neutron forces at supranuclear density. We discuss the correlation between the symmetry energy, the neutron star radius and the symmetry energy. We also combine QMC and theoretical models of the three-nucleon interactions, and recent neutron star observations to constrain the value of the symmetry energy and its density dependence.
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2014