Excited nuclei in neutron star crusts

The paper considers the chains of successive electron capture reactionsby nuclei of the iron group which take place in the crystal structuresof neutron star envelopes. It is shown that as a result of suchreactions the daughter nuclei in excited states accumulate within certainlayers of neutron star crusts. The phonon model of interactions isproposed between the excited nuclei in the crystalline structure, as wellas formation of highly excited nuclear states which emit neutrons andhigher energy photons.