Isovector and pairing properties of the gogny interaction in the context of neutron stars.

11 of the Gogny forces available in literature have been studied in order to evaluate their isovector properties and to comment on their viability for beyond 1S0 pairing channels, and neutron star cooling calculations. I find that, even within a relatively narrow set of Gogny functionals, there is a large variation in isospin properties. In particular, I find that the density dependence of the symmetry energy provided by Gogny forces is too soft and lies outside of currently accepted values. This points to poor constraints in the isovector sector, that should be improved in future fitting protocols. In addition to this, the pairing properties of the Gogny forces have been examined for the 1S0, 3S1, 3P2 and 1P1 channels. Although most forces are in keeping with literature for the 1S0 gaps, the remaining channels are not particularly constrained and many of the Gogny forces produce unphysical results. The pairing gaps generated for the D1P parametrisation have been used to calculate neutron star cooling curves as a proof-of-concept for the Gogny force. Successful cooling curves incorporating superfluid effects have been produced using the NSCool software package. Although most Gogny forces perform poorly in both the isovector and pairing sectors, it is shown that consistent neutron star models cooling models can be generated with the Gogny force. Suggestions are made as to the fitting considerations for a future force