MUFFINS: Metallurgy Uncovers Forced Fractures Inside Neutron Stars

As a result of nuclear reactions within the neutron star crust, even neutron stars that have not accreted matter can have impurities in their crust. These impurities would have an effect on the mechanical properties of the crust, possibly creating a more brittle structure. In order to investigate the properties of an impure crust we are performing molecular dynamic simulations using the Large scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS). The simulations are run at fixed energy and volume with the isotopes interacting via a repulsive Yukawa potential. Here we present effects of impurities with respect the the breaking strain in a non-accreting neutron star crust.