Thermal and electrical conductivities of crystals in neutron stars and degenerate dwarfs

Abstract

Thermal and electrical conductivities due to electron scattering on phonons are calculated for degenerate cores of white dwarfs and envelopes of neutron stars for wide ranges of density, temperature and ion charge. In the stellar zones, in which T ≳ ħω_pi(Z^1/3e²/ħυ_F) (ω_piis the ion plasma frequency and υ_F the Fermi velocity of electrons), the main contribution into scattering comes from the Umklapp processes. In the zones with lowerT, the Umklapp processes are frozen out, that results in a sharp growth of electrical and thermal conductivities. This, for instance, should make nuclear burning more stable in such zones.