Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

Neutron rich matter in the laboratory and in the cosmos

Charles Horowitz

Indiana University

The Lead Radius Experiment (PREX) is using parity violating electron scattering to precisely determine where the neutrons are in a ²⁰⁸Pb nucleus. This measurement has important implications for the properties of neutron rich matter in astrophysics. We illustrate some of these implications with molecular dynamics simulations of neutron star crust and calculate mechanical and transport properties of dense matter that help determine electromagnetic, neutrino, and gravitational wave radiations of neutron stars.