Neutron star interiors and the equation of state of ultra-dense matter

Abstract

Neutron stars contain matter in one of the densest forms found in the Universe. This feature, together with the unprecedented progress in observational astrophysics, makes such stars superb astrophysical laboratories for a broad range of exciting physical studies. This paper gives an overview of the phases of dense matter predicted to make their appearance in the cores of neutron stars. Particular emphasis is put on the role of strangeness. Net strangeness is carried by hyperons, K-mesons, H-dibaryons, and strange quark matter, and may leave its mark in the masses, radii, moment of inertia, dragging of local inertial frames, cooling behavior, surface composition, and the spin evolution of neutron stars. These observables play a key role for the exploration of the phase diagram of dense nuclear matter at high baryon number density but low temperature, which is not accessible to relativistic heavy ion collision experiments.