Influence of the tetraneutron on the EoS under core-collapse supernova and heavy-ion collision conditions

¹ Department of Fundamental Physics, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
e-mail: hpais@uc.pt
² CFisUC, University of Coimbra, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal

Received: 18 July 2023
Accepted: 20 September 2023

Abstract

Context. Recently, a resonant state of four neutrons (tetraneutron) with an energy of E_4n = 2.37 ± 0.38(stat) ± 0.44(sys) MeV and a width of Γ = 1.75 ± 0.22(stat) ± 0.30(sys) MeV was reported.

Aims. In this work, we analyze the effect of including such an exotic state on the yields of other light clusters; these clusters not only form in astrophysical sites, such as core-collapse supernovae and neutron star (NS) mergers, but also in heavy-ion collisions.

Methods. To this aim, we used a relativistic mean-field (RMF) formalism, where we consider in-medium effects in a two-fold way – that is, via the couplings of the clusters to the mesons, and via a binding energy shift – to compute the low-density equation of state (EoS) for nuclear matter at finite temperature and fixed proton fraction. We consider five light clusters – namely deuterons, tritons, helions, α-particles, and ⁶He – immersed in a gas of protons and neutrons, and we calculate their abundances and chemical equilibrium constants with and without the tetraneutron. We also analyze how the associated energy of the tetraneutron would influence such results.

Results. We find that the low-temperature, neutron-rich systems are the ones most affected by the presence of the tetraneutron, making NSs excellent environments for their formation. Moreover, its presence in strongly asymmetric matter may increase the proton and α-particle fractions considerably. This may have an influence on the dissolution of the accretion disk of the merger of two NSs.