Effects of three-body forces on the maximum mass of neutron stars in the lowest-order constrained variational formalism

Abstract

The equation of state of neutron star matter is calculated within the lowest order constrained variational (LOCV) method using different two-body interactions and an Urbana type three-body force. The core of the neutron star is modelled by $\ensuremath{\beta}$-stable matter. The corresponding neutron star mass-radius relations are presented and the effect of using a three-body interaction on the maximum gravitational mass of the star is also discussed. It is shown that including the three-body force generally increases the maximum gravitational mass.