Neutronization kinetics for matter in a magnetic field

Abstract

Inverse g-decay processes can occur, which lead to neutronization (saturation of nuclei with neutrons) under conditions of electron-nuclear material in the presence of relativistic electrons [1]. An attempt has been made [2] to examine the effects of an ultrastrong magnetic field on the neutronization times for hydrogen, helium, carbon, and iron, where it was concluded that these times are reduced by from one to three orders of magnitude in magnetic fields having inductions of -( 1015 _ 1017) G. There is doubt about that conclusion, because there is a reduction in the maximal energy (chemical potential) of relativistic electrons in an ultrastrong magnetic field [3], which should hinder neutronization and consequently increase that time. Here we estimate the effects of such a field on the neutronization time for cold superdense material, where we maliepartial use of the [2] data, which we have refined.The probability of neutronization in an extremely degenerate magnetized material is [2] W(B) = w[ f(B)tfi(B )]-1,where the product of the Fermi g-decay function and the exponential time is expressed in terms of the product of the corresponding quantities in the absence of a magnetic field, data on which exist in [4]:with B the magnetic-field induction, Bcr = 4. 414 9 1013 G, A is the difference in the energies corresponding to beta decay in units of me c2, and me is the electron mass. It is not difficult to show from the [3,4] results that the following dimensionless function applies in a magnetic field whose induction exceeds the quantum limit for relativistic electrons:with Z the electron chemical potential and A >> 1. Neutronization in superdense matter begins when e m attains A. The following formulas [3] define the chemical potential of an extremely degenerate ideal relativistic electron gas in the quantum limit of an ultrastrong magnetic field: Brest State University.