Effects of the symmetry energy on properties of neutron star crusts near the neutron drip density

Understand

We study the effects of the symmetry energy on the neutron drip density and properties of nuclei in neutron star crusts.

• The nonuniform matter around the neutron drip point is calculated by using the Thomas--Fermi approximation with the relativistic mean-field model.
• The neutron drip density and the composition of the crust are found to be correlated with the symmetry energy and its slope.
• We compare the self-consistent Thomas--Fermi approximation with other treatments of surface and Coulomb energies and find that these finite-size effects play an essential role in determining the equilibrium state at low density.