Speaker:  Professor Charles J. Horowitz, Indiana University

Title:   Nuclear Pasta: Non Uniform Matter in Neutron Stars and Supernovae

Abstract:   All conventional matter is "frustrated". It is correlated at short distances from attractive strong interactions and anti correlated at large distances because of Coulomb repulsion. Often these length scales are well separated so nucleons bind into nuclei that are segregated on a crystal lattice. However at great densities the length scales become comparable and matter may cluster into complex structures called nuclear pasta. Pasta is thought to be present in the crust of neutron stars and in supernovae. These are giant explosions of a massive star that radiate vast numbers of neutrinos. Neutrino-pasta scattering, in a supernova, is directly analogous to neutron-biomolecule scattering that is planned for Indiana University's new LENS facility. After a broad introduction, computer simulations of the pasta will be presented along with the pasta's response to neutrinos.

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