Pasta-phase transitions in the inner crust of neutron stars

Abstract

We perform calculations of nuclear pasta phases in the inner crust of neutron stars with the Thomas-Fermi method and the Compressible Liquid Drop Model using the Barcelona-Catania-Paris-Madrid (BCPM) energy density functional and several Skyrme forces. We compare the crust-core transition density estimated from the crust side with the predictions obtained from the core by using the thermodynamical and dynamical methods. Finally, the correlation between the crust-core transition density and the slope of the symmetry energy at saturation is briefly analyzed.