Comparison of equation of state models with different cluster dissolution mechanisms

The appearance of nuclear clusters in stellar matter at densities below nuclear saturation is an important feature in the modeling of the equation of state for astrophysical applications. There are different theoretical concepts to describe the dissolution of nuclei with increasing density and temperature. In this contribution, the predictions of two approaches are compared: the medium dependent change of the nuclear masses in a generalized relativistic density functional approach and the excluded-volume mechanism in a statistical model. Both approaches use the same description for the interaction between the nucleons. The composition of neutron star matter, in particular the occurrence of light and heavy nuclei, and its thermodynamic properties are studied.
Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures, contribution to the special-topics volume on nuclear correlations and cluster physics, edited by W. U. Schr\"{o}der