Transport in Neutron Star Mergers

Transport in Neutron Star Mergers

Pacific
Speaker(s) Alex Haber, Washington University in St. Louis
Video
Description

Please contact sjhan@berkeley.edu orĀ asuliga@berkeley.edu for zoom links.

Transport processes in hot and dense matter are an important way to improve our understanding of fundamental interactions and might be accessible via gravitational wave observations. In this talk I will especially focus on modified and direct Urca processes in nuclear matter under conditions that we expect in binary neutron star mergers. Nuclear Urca processes have shown to be a potential significant source of bulk viscosity under merger conditions. I will explain how a correct relativistic treatment can alter the rates and the true beta equilibrium significantly.