Extension to nuclear matter in neutron stars
The W-SLDA Toolkit has been expanded to encompass nuclear systems, now available as the W-BSk Toolkit.
W-BSk serves as a versatile toolkit for 3D modeling of processes within neutron stars, specifically optimized for the inner crust -- a domain where the crystalline structure of nuclei interacts profoundly with neutron superfluid matter. Capable of handling static and time-dependent phenomena at both zero and finite temperatures, W-BSk operates without symmetry constraints and has undergone rigorous testing with nuclei in vacuum and within the superfluid Fermi sea. Under the hood, W-BSk shares its core engine with W-SLDA. However, it distinguishes itself by incorporating a nuclear energy density functional from the Brussels-Montreal family, tailored explicitly for astrophysical applications. This functional not only fits empirical data such as atomic masses and nuclear charge radii but also integrates insights from N-body calculations, accounting for many-body properties like the equation of state of pure neutron matter and pairing gaps. We've implemented this theory to optimize the numerical performance of the W-BSk Toolkit for the inner crust regime. Furthermore, the flexibility of our implementation allows for easy substitution of the density functional with another model.