  Screening effects of electrons on inhomogeneous nuclear matter, which
includes spherical, slablike, and rodlike nuclei as well as spherical and
rodlike nuclear bubbles, are investigated in view of possible application to
cold neutron star matter and supernova matter at subnuclear densities. Using a
compressible liquid-drop model incorporating uncertainties in the surface
tension, we find that the energy change due to the screening effects broadens
the density region in which bubbles and nonspherical nuclei appear in the phase
diagram delineating the energetically favorable shape of inhomogeneous nuclear
matter. This conclusion is considered to be general since it stems from a
model-independent feature that the electron screening acts to decrease the
density at which spherical nuclei become unstable against fission and to
increase the density at which uniform matter becomes unstable against proton
clustering.
