Making Nuclear Sandwiches using BCC Crystal Lattices

Neutron star crust is made up of a variety of sub-layers all with different compositions. Although crust models using only a uniform, continuous single bcc crystal lattice distribution benefit from simplicity and symmetry, models involving multiple crystal domains are more accurate in terms of the reality of the situation. With elements like transport properties in mind, using molecular dynamics simulations we were able to develop a code that produces this nuclear sandwich model as it shall be referred to in this work. This nuclear sandwich model, comprised of a two crystal domain structure, is more representative of neutron star crust than the single crystal domain models. We then simulated the model's implications for when crystal structures at different angles relative to each other meet at this new interface. Results from running these simulations with only protons and no nuclear forces show that our nuclear sandwich remains stable and can now be further tested to include parameters such as varying densities, temperatures, and magnetic fields.