Structure of Proton Component of Neutron Star Matter for Realistic Nuclear Models

Abstract

We study properties of the proton component of neutron star matter for a number of realistic nuclear models. Protons which form a few percent admixture tend to be localized in potential wells corresponding to neutron matter inhomogeneities created by the protons in the neutron medium. We calculate the energy of the Wigner-Seitz cell enclosing a single localized proton. The neutron background is treated in the Thomas-Fermi approximation and the localized proton is described by the Gaussian wave function. The neutron density profile is obtained by solving the appropriate variational equation. This approach gives lower energies of localized protons than obtained previously with less sophisticated methods.