Eur. Phys. J. A (2021) 57: 260
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-021-00558-w

Regular Article - Theoretical Physics

Neutron star crustal properties from relativistic mean-field models and bulk parameters effects

Departamento de Física, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, DCTA, 12228-900, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

^a marianad@ita.br

Received: 30 April 2021
Accepted: 15 July 2021
Published online: 25 August 2021

Abstract

We calculate crustal properties of neutron stars, namely, mass ($M_{\mathrm{crust}}$), radius ($R_{\mathrm{crust}}$) and fraction of moment of inertia ($\mathrm{\Delta }I/I$) from parametrizations of hadronic relativistic mean-field (RMF) model consistent with symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter constraints, as well as some stellar boundaries. We verify which one are also in agreement with restrictions of $\mathrm{\Delta }I/I⩾1.4\%$ and $\mathrm{\Delta }I/I⩾7\%$ related to the glitching mechanism observed in pulsars, such as the Vela one. The latter constraint explains the glitches phenomenon when entrainment effects are taken into account. Our findings indicate that these parametrizations pass in the glitching limit for a neutron star mass range of $M⩽1.82M_{\odot }$ ($\mathrm{\Delta }I/I⩾1.4\%$), and $M⩽1.16M_{\odot }$ ($\mathrm{\Delta }I/I⩾7\%$). We also investigate the influence of nuclear matter bulk parameters on crustal properties and find that symmetry energy is the quantity that produces the higher variations on $M_{\mathrm{crust}}$, $R_{\mathrm{crust}}$, and $\mathrm{\Delta }I/I$. Based on the results, we construct a particular RMF parametrization able to satisfy $\mathrm{\Delta }I/I⩾7\%$ even at $M=1.4M_{\odot }$, the mass value used to fit data from the softer component of the Vela pulsar X-ray spectrum. The model also presents compatibility with observational data from PSR J1614−2230, PSR J0348 + 0432, and MSP J0740 + 6620 pulsars, as well as, with data from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission.