  We study properties of the proton component of neutron star matter for a
number of realistic nuclear models. Protons which form a few percent admixture
tend to be localized in potential wells corresponding to neutron matter
inhomogeneities created by the protons in the neutron medium. We calculate the
energy of the Wigner-Seitz cell enclosing a single localized proton. The
neutron background is treated in the Thomas-Fermi approximation and the
localized proton is described by the Gaussian wave function. The neutron
density profile is obtained by solving the appropriate variational equation.
This approach gives lower energies of localized protons than obtained
previously with less sophisticated methods.
