Strongly interacting matter exhibits deconfined behavior in massive neutron stars.

ABSTRACT: Neutron-star cores contain matter at the highest densities in our Universe. This highly compressed matter may undergo a phase transition where nuclear matter melts into deconfined quark matter, liberating its constituent quarks and gluons. Quark matter exhibits an approximate conformal symmetry, predicting a specific form for its equation of state (EoS), but it is currently unknown whether the transition takes place inside at least some physical neutron stars. Here, we quantify this likelihood by combining information from astrophysical observations and theoretical calculations. Using Bayesian inference, we demonstrate that in the cores of maximally massive stars, the EoS is consistent with quark matter. We do this by establishing approximate conformal symmetry restoration with high creden

SUBMITTER: Annala E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10730725 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature