Recent progress constraining the nuclear equation of state from astrophysics and heavy-ion reactions

Abstract

The quest for the nuclear equation of state (EoS) at high densities and/or extreme isospin is one of the longstanding problems of nuclear physics. Ab initio calculations for the nuclear many-body problem make predictions for the density and isospin dependence of the EoS far away from the saturation point of nuclear matter. On the other hand, in recent years substantial progress has been made to constrain the EoS, both from the astrophysical side and from accelerator-based experiments. Heavy-ion experiments support a soft EoS at moderate densities, while recent neutron star observations require a ‘stiff’ high density behavior. Both constraints are discussed and shown to be in agreement with the predictions from the many-body theory.