Self-consistent Thomas-Fermi Approximation for Equation of State at Subnuclear Densities

The self-consistent Thomas-Fermi approximation is an essential method for studying the non-uniform nuclear matter with relativistic mean-field theory. In this method, the nucleon distribution in the Wigner-Seitz cell is obtained self-consistently. We make a detailed comparison between the present results and previous calculations in the Thomas-Fermi approximation with a parameterized nucleon distribution that has been adopted in the widely used Shen equation of state.