Thermodynamic properties of superfluid neutron star matter

The specific heat of the superfluid neutrons in the inner crust of a neutron star, where neutron-rich nuclei in a Coulomb lattice are permeated by a gas of unbound neutrons, is studied in the framework of a semiclassical model, based on the local density approximation, in order to describe the nonuniform pairing gap in the Wigner-Seitz cell. We have found that the specific heat of this superfluid system in a relevant range of densities and temperatures for the crust, has a value considerably larger than that associated with a uniform neutron superfluid. This result may have relevance in the study of the thermal evolution of neutron stars.