Asymmetric nuclear matter and neutron star properties in relativistic ab initio theory in the full Dirac space

The long-standing controversy about the isospin dependence of the effective Dirac mass in ab initio calculations of asymmetric nuclear matter is clarified by solving the relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock equations in the full Dirac space. The symmetry energy and its slope parameter at the saturation density are E-sym(rho 0) = 33.1MeV and L = 65.2 MeV, in agreement with empirical and experimental values. Further applications predict the neutron star radius R1.4M circle dot approximate to 12 km and the maximum mass of a neutron star M-max <= 2.4M(circle dot)

Automated summary

The controversy surrounding isospin dependence of the effective Dirac mass in ab initio calculations of asymmetric nuclear matter is clarified through solving relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock equations in full Dirac space. The symmetry energy and slope parameter at saturation density are in agreement with empirical values, and further applications predict neutron star radius and maximum mass.