%0 Generic %1 essick2021astrophysical %A Essick, Reed %A Tews, Ingo %A Landry, Philippe %A Schwenk, Achim %D 2021 %K gpr ns %T Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of $^208$Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions %U http://arxiv.org/abs/2102.10074 %X The symmetry energy and its density dependence are crucial inputs for many nuclear physics and astrophysics applications, as they determine properties ranging from the neutron-skin thickness of nuclei to the crust thickness and the radius of neutron stars. Recently, PREX-II reported a value of $0.29\pm 0.07$ fm for the neutron-skin thickness of $^208$Pb, implying a slope parameter $L = 11037$ MeV, larger than most ranges obtained from microscopic calculations and other nuclear experiments. We use a nonparametric equation of state representation based on Gaussian processes to constrain the symmetry energy $S_0$, $L$, and $R_skin^^208Pb$ directly from observations of neutron stars with minimal modeling assumptions. The resulting astrophysical constraints from heavy pulsar masses, LIGO/Virgo, and NICER clearly favor smaller values of the neutron skin and $L$, as well as negative symmetry incompressibilities. Combining astrophysical data with PREX-II and chiral effective field theory constraints yields $S_0 = 34^+3_-3$ MeV, $L=58^+19_-19$ MeV, and $R_skin^^208Pb = 0.19^+0.03_-0.04$ fm.

@misc{essick2021astrophysical, abstract = {The symmetry energy and its density dependence are crucial inputs for many nuclear physics and astrophysics applications, as they determine properties ranging from the neutron-skin thickness of nuclei to the crust thickness and the radius of neutron stars. Recently, PREX-II reported a value of $0.29\pm 0.07$ fm for the neutron-skin thickness of $^{208}$Pb, implying a slope parameter $L = 110\pm 37$ MeV, larger than most ranges obtained from microscopic calculations and other nuclear experiments. We use a nonparametric equation of state representation based on Gaussian processes to constrain the symmetry energy $S_0$, $L$, and $R_{\rm skin}^{^{208}\text{Pb}}$ directly from observations of neutron stars with minimal modeling assumptions. The resulting astrophysical constraints from heavy pulsar masses, LIGO/Virgo, and NICER clearly favor smaller values of the neutron skin and $L$, as well as negative symmetry incompressibilities. Combining astrophysical data with PREX-II and chiral effective field theory constraints yields $S_0 = 34^{+3}_{-3}$ MeV, $L=58^{+19}_{-19}$ MeV, and $R_{\rm skin}^{^{208}\text{Pb}} = 0.19^{+0.03}_{-0.04}$ fm.}, added-at = {2021-02-22T08:44:46.000+0100}, author = {Essick, Reed and Tews, Ingo and Landry, Philippe and Schwenk, Achim}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2584c59b64451d047e48ee2429178f5ef/lprudenzi}, description = {Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of $^{208}$Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions}, interhash = {5dd92390c36cffe24626feb957af4a68}, intrahash = {584c59b64451d047e48ee2429178f5ef}, keywords = {gpr ns}, note = {cite arxiv:2102.10074Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table}, timestamp = {2021-02-22T08:44:46.000+0100}, title = {Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of $^{208}$Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2102.10074}, year = 2021 }