Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs

Neutron matter is an important many-body system that provides valuable constraints for the equation of state (EOS) of neutron stars. Neutron-matter calculations employing chiral effective field theory (EFT) interactions have been extensively used for this purpose. Among the various many-body methods...

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Main Authors: Ingo Tews, Rahul Somasundaram, Diego Lonardoni, Hannah Göttling, Rodric Seutin, Joseph Carlson, Stefano Gandolfi, Kai Hebeler, Achim Schwenk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-07-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/r314-6r62
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author Ingo Tews
Rahul Somasundaram
Diego Lonardoni
Hannah Göttling
Rodric Seutin
Joseph Carlson
Stefano Gandolfi
Kai Hebeler
Achim Schwenk
author_facet Ingo Tews
Rahul Somasundaram
Diego Lonardoni
Hannah Göttling
Rodric Seutin
Joseph Carlson
Stefano Gandolfi
Kai Hebeler
Achim Schwenk
author_sort Ingo Tews
collection DOAJ
description Neutron matter is an important many-body system that provides valuable constraints for the equation of state (EOS) of neutron stars. Neutron-matter calculations employing chiral effective field theory (EFT) interactions have been extensively used for this purpose. Among the various many-body methods, quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods stand out due to their nonperturbative nature and the achievable precision. However, QMC methods require local interactions as input, which leads to the appearance of stronger regulator artifacts compared to nonlocal interactions. To circumvent this, we employ large-cutoff interactions derived within chiral EFT (400MeV≤Λ_{c}≤700MeV) for studies of pure neutron matter. These interactions have been adjusted to nucleon-nucleon scattering phase shifts, the triton binding energy, as well as the triton β-decay half-life. We find that regulator artifacts significantly decrease with increasing cutoff, leading to a significant reduction of uncertainties in the neutron-matter EOS. We discuss implications for the symmetry energy and demonstrate how our new calculations lead to a reduction in the theoretical uncertainty of predicted neutron-star radii by up to 30% for low-mass stars.
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issn 2643-1564
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher American Physical Society
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series Physical Review Research
spelling doaj-art-efb08f6a33774eac845c47cffa15361a2025-08-20T02:44:19ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642025-07-017303302410.1103/r314-6r62Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffsIngo TewsRahul SomasundaramDiego LonardoniHannah GöttlingRodric SeutinJoseph CarlsonStefano GandolfiKai HebelerAchim SchwenkNeutron matter is an important many-body system that provides valuable constraints for the equation of state (EOS) of neutron stars. Neutron-matter calculations employing chiral effective field theory (EFT) interactions have been extensively used for this purpose. Among the various many-body methods, quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods stand out due to their nonperturbative nature and the achievable precision. However, QMC methods require local interactions as input, which leads to the appearance of stronger regulator artifacts compared to nonlocal interactions. To circumvent this, we employ large-cutoff interactions derived within chiral EFT (400MeV≤Λ_{c}≤700MeV) for studies of pure neutron matter. These interactions have been adjusted to nucleon-nucleon scattering phase shifts, the triton binding energy, as well as the triton β-decay half-life. We find that regulator artifacts significantly decrease with increasing cutoff, leading to a significant reduction of uncertainties in the neutron-matter EOS. We discuss implications for the symmetry energy and demonstrate how our new calculations lead to a reduction in the theoretical uncertainty of predicted neutron-star radii by up to 30% for low-mass stars.http://doi.org/10.1103/r314-6r62
spellingShingle Ingo Tews
Rahul Somasundaram
Diego Lonardoni
Hannah Göttling
Rodric Seutin
Joseph Carlson
Stefano Gandolfi
Kai Hebeler
Achim Schwenk
Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
Physical Review Research
title Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
title_full Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
title_fullStr Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
title_full_unstemmed Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
title_short Neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
title_sort neutron matter from local chiral effective field theory interactions at large cutoffs
url http://doi.org/10.1103/r314-6r62
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AT hannahgottling neutronmatterfromlocalchiraleffectivefieldtheoryinteractionsatlargecutoffs
AT rodricseutin neutronmatterfromlocalchiraleffectivefieldtheoryinteractionsatlargecutoffs
AT josephcarlson neutronmatterfromlocalchiraleffectivefieldtheoryinteractionsatlargecutoffs
AT stefanogandolfi neutronmatterfromlocalchiraleffectivefieldtheoryinteractionsatlargecutoffs
AT kaihebeler neutronmatterfromlocalchiraleffectivefieldtheoryinteractionsatlargecutoffs
AT achimschwenk neutronmatterfromlocalchiraleffectivefieldtheoryinteractionsatlargecutoffs