Relativistic equation of state at subnuclear densities in the Thomas-Fermi approximation

We study the non-uniform nuclear matter using the self-consistent Thomas--Fermi approximation with a relativistic mean-field model. The non-uniform matter is assumed to be composed of a lattice of heavy nuclei surrounded by dripped nucleons. At each temperature $T$, proton fraction $Y_p$, and baryon mass density $\rho_B$, we determine the thermodynamically favored state by minimizing the free energy with respect to the radius of the Wigner--Seitz cell, while the nucleon distribution in the cell can be determined self-consistently in the Thomas--Fermi approximation. A detailed comparison is made 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 EOS.