Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the thermal conductivity of neutron star crusts

Abstract

We use the quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) techniques to calculate the static structure function $S(q)$ of a one-component ion lattice and use it to calculate the thermal conductivity $κ$ of high-density solid matter expected in the neutron star crust. By making detailed comparisons with the results for the thermal conductivity obtained using standard techniques based on the one-phonon approximation (OPA) valid at low temperature, and the multi-phonon harmonic approximation expected to be valid over a wide range of temperatures, we asses the temperature regime where $S(q)$ from QMC can be used directly to calculate $κ$. We also compare the QMC results to those obtained using classical Monte Carlo to quantitatively asses the magnitude of the quantum corrections. We find that quantum effects became relevant for the calculation of $κ$ at temperature $T \lesssim 0.3 ~Ω_\mathrm{P}$, where $Ω_\mathrm{P}$ is the ion plasma frequency. At $T \simeq 0.1 ~Ω_\mathrm{P}$ the quantum effects suppress $κ$ by about $30\%$. The comparison with the results of the OPA indicates that dynamical information beyond the static structure is needed when $T \lesssim 0.1~ Ω_\mathrm{P}$. These quantitative comparisons help to establish QMC as a viable technique to calculate $κ$ at moderate temperatures in the range $T=0.1-1~Ω_\mathrm{P}$ of relevance to the study of accreting neutron stars. This finding is especially important because QMC is the only viable technique so far for calculating $κ$ in multi-component systems at low-temperatures.