https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-020-00302-w
Regular Article – Theoretical Physics
Light clusters in warm stellar matter: calibrating the cluster couplings
1
CFisUC, Department of Physics, University of Coimbra, 3004-516, Coimbra, Portugal
2
ENSICAEN, UNICAEN, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen, Normandie University, 14000, Caen, France
3
Institut für Physik, Universität Rostock, 18051, Rostock, Germany
4
National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI), 115409, Moscow, Russia
Received:
29
September
2020
Accepted:
6
November
2020
Published online:
23
November
2020
The abundances of light clusters within a formalism that considers in-medium effects are calculated using several relativistic mean-field models, with both density-dependent and density-independent couplings. Clusters are introduced as new quasiparticles, with a modified coupling to the scalar meson field. A comparison with experimental data from heavy ion collisions allows settling the model dependence of the results and the determination of the couplings of the light clusters to the meson fields. We find that extra experimental constraints at higher density are needed to convincingly pin down the density associated to the melting of clusters in the dense nuclear medium. The role of neutron rich clusters, such as 
He, in asymmetric matter is discussed.
© Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
