Interior Of Compact Stars Research Articles

Strange quark star models from Rastall gravity

We study the possible existence of strange matter in the interior of compact stars in Rastall gravity. The main feature of the Rastall gravity is the covariant derivative of the energy–momentum tensor does not vanish and depends on the curvature R and a free parameter η. We consider the MIT bag model in the present work and numerically solve the modified Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equations. We investigate the effect of the Rastall parameter η on the mass–radius and the mass-central energy density relation of quark stars. From the quark star masses and radii obtained, we conclude that η has significant consequences on the structure of stellar objects.

Bayesian Exploration of Phenomenological EoS of Neutron/Hybrid Stars with Recent Observations

The description of the stellar interior of compact stars remains as a big challenge for the nuclear astrophysics community. The consolidated knowledge is restricted to density regions around the saturation of hadronic matter ρ0=2.8×1014gcm−3, regimes where our nuclear models are successfully applied. As one moves towards higher densities and extreme conditions up to the quark/gluons deconfinement, little can be said about the microphysics of the equation of state (EoS). Here, we employ a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) strategy to access the variability at high density regions of polytropic piecewise models for neutron star (NS) EoS or possible hybrid stars, i.e., a NS with a small quark-matter core. With a fixed description of the hadronic matter for low density, below the nuclear saturation density, we explore a variety of models for the high density regimes leading to stellar masses near to 2.5M⊙, in accordance with the observations of massive pulsars. The models are constrained, including the observation of the merger of neutrons stars from VIRGO-LIGO and with the pulsar observed by NICER. In addition, we also discuss the possibility of the use of a Bayesian power regression model with heteroscedastic error. The set of EoS from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) was used as input and treated as the data set for the testing case.

Pseudo-Conformal Sound Speed in the Core of Compact Stars

By implementing the putative “hadron-quark continuity” conjectured in QCD in terms of skyrmion-half-skyrmion topological change in an effective field theory for dense matter, we argue that (quasi-)baryons could “masquerade” deconfined quarks in the interior of compact stars. We interpret this phenomenon as a consequence of possible interplay between hidden scale symmetry and hidden local symmetry at high density. A surprising spin-off of the emerging symmetry that we call “pseudo-conformality” is that the long-standing puzzle of the quenched gA≈1 in nuclei can be given a simple resolution by the way the hidden symmetries impact nuclear dynamics at low density.

Determination of the charge for strange stars

Beginning from the proposal of a physically acceptable model to represent the interior of compact stars, in which their interior is formed by a strange matter distribution described by a charged fluid with anisotropic pressure, a MIT Bag equation of state for the radial pressure and metric functions given by a geometry that describes a regular, static and spherically symmetric space-time, we will determine the possible charge of some strange stars, or candidates, for which we know their radius and mass in an observational manner. As are: EXO 1785-248, SAX J1808.4-3658, SMC X-1, LMC X-4, Her X-1 and 4U 1538-52. The values of the Bag constant, B g , are found between 119.8 Mev/fm3 and 176.41 Mev/fm3. Meanwhile the interval of the electric charge is found between 1.5453 × 1018 C and 7.6271 × 1019 C, the minimum corresponds to the star Her X-1 and the maximum to the star SMCX-1. Also, we show that for each fixed value of compactness u = GM/c 2 R, we obtain that, for greater values of the Bag constant the net charge diminishes and as the compactness increases the associated Bag constant increases as well.

Hybrid Star Construction with the Extended Linear Sigma Model: Preliminary Results

The interior of compact stars is usually divided into two major parts, the outer part called crust and the inner part called core. There are several possibilities for the composition of these parts. One is a hybrid star, in which the crust contains nuclear matter, while the inner core contains quark matter. Since at large baryon densities one can work with effective models, and nuclear and quark matter are usually described by different models, some unification of the two parts is needed. We show two different approaches for a composite model and some recent developments in hybrid star constructions using the extended linear sigma model for modeling the quark matter at the core.

Magnetic field effect on nuclear matter from a Skyrmion crystal model

We explore magnetic field effects on the nuclear matter based on the skrymion crystal approach for the first time. It is found that the magnetic effect plays the role of a catalyzer for the topological phase transition (topological deformation for the skyrmion crystal configuration from the skrymion phase to half-skyrmion phase). Furthermore, we observe that in the presence of the magnetic field, the inhomogeneous chiral condensate persists both in the skyrmion and half-skyrmion phases. Explicitly, as the strength of magnetic field gets larger, the inhomogeneous chiral condensate in the skyrmion phase tends to be drastically localized, while in the half-skyrmion phase the inhomogeneity configuration is hardly affected. It also turns out that a large magnetic effect in a low density region distorts the baryon shape to an elliptic form but the crystal structure is intact. However, in a high density region, the crystal structure is strongly effected by the strong magnetic field. A possible correlation between the chiral inhomogeneity and the deformation of the skrymion configuration is also addressed. The results obtained in this paper might be realized in the deep interior of compact stars.

New color-magnetic defects in dense quark matter

Color-flavor locked (CFL) quark matter expels color-magnetic fields due to the Meissner effect. One of these fields carries an admixture of the ordinary abelian magnetic field and therefore flux tubes may form if CFL matter is exposed to a magnetic field, possibly in the interior of neutron stars or in quark stars. We employ a Ginzburg–Landau approach for three massless quark flavors, which takes into account the multi-component nature of color superconductivity. Based on the weak-coupling expressions for the Ginzburg–Landau parameters, we identify the regime where CFL is a type-II color superconductor and compute the radial profiles of different color-magnetic flux tubes. Among the configurations without baryon circulation we find a new solution that is energetically preferred over the flux tubes previously discussed in the literature in the parameter regime relevant for compact stars. Within the same setup, we also find a new defect in the 2SC phase, namely magnetic domain walls, which emerge naturally from the previously studied flux tubes if a more general ansatz for the order parameter is used. Color-magnetic defects in the interior of compact stars allow for sustained deformations of the star, potentially strong enough to produce detectable gravitational waves.

Anisotropy in the equation of state of strongly magnetized quark matter within the Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model

In this article, we calculate the magnetization and other thermodynamical quantities for strongly magnetized quark matter within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model at zero temperature. We assume two scenarios, chemically equilibrated charge neutral matter present in the interior of compact stars and zero-strangeness isospin-symmetric matter created in nuclear experiments. We show that the magnetization oscillates with density but in a much more smooth form than what was previously shown in the literature. As a consequence, we do not see the unphysical behavior in the pressure in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field that was previously found. Finally, we also analyze the effects of a vector interaction on our results.

Mixing of charged and neutral Bose condensates at nonzero temperature and magnetic field

It is expected that in the interior of compact stars a proton superconductor coexists with and couples to a neutron superfluid. Starting from a field-theoretical model for two complex scalar fields - one of which is electrically charged - we derive a Ginzburg-Landau potential which includes entrainment between the two fluids and temperature effects from thermal excitations of the two scalar fields and the gauge field. The Ginzburg-Landau description is then used for an analysis of the phase structure in the presence of an external magnetic field. In particular, we study the effect of the superfluid on the flux tube phase by computing the various critical magnetic fields and deriving an approximation for the flux tube interaction. As a result, we point out differences to the naive expectations from an isolated superconductor, for instance the existence of a first-order flux tube onset, resulting in a more complicated phase structure in the region between type-I and type-II superconductivity.

Physical behavior of anisotropic compact stars in f(R, T, RμνTμν) gravity

This paper investigates the behavior of anisotropic compact stars in the background of R + αRμνTμν gravity model. For this purpose, we use Krori–Barua metric solutions where constants are calculated using masses and radii of compact stars like Her X-1, SAX J 1808.4–3658, and 4U1820–30. We analyze regular behavior of effective energy density, and radial and transverse pressures in the interior of compact stars. We also discuss energy conditions, effect of anisotropic factor, and stability criteria of these stars. It is concluded that the considered compact star models satisfy all the energy conditions and remain stable against the anisotropic effect in this gravity.

From ultra-dense QCD towards NICA densities: Color-flavor locking and other color superconductors

At asymptotically large densities and sufficiently low temperatures, quark matter is a color superconductor in the color-flavor locked phase. I present a brief discussion of this phase and of possible other color superconductors that may appear at densities reached at NICA and in the interior of compact stars.

Study of isotropic compact stars in $f(R,T,R_{\mu\nu}T^{\mu\nu})$ gravity

In this paper, we investigate physical behavior and stability of compact stars filled with isotropic fluid in \( f(R,T,R_{\mu\nu}T^{\mu\nu})\) gravity. We consider the static spherically symmetric spacetime and choose the simplest model of this gravity, i.e., \( R+\alpha R_{\mu\nu}T^{\mu\nu}\) . To examine the basic features of compact stars like Her X-1, SAX J 1808.4-3658 and 4U 1820-30, we apply analytic solutions of Krori and Barua metric using the mass-radius relation. We study the behavior of effective energy density, pressure, equation of state parameter and energy conditions in the interior of compact stars. We also explore the stability criteria of compact stars via the speed of sound. It is concluded that all the energy conditions are satisfied and the compact stars are found to be stable at the boundary for this particular model.

Cubic Wavefunction Deformation of Compressed Atoms

We hypothesize that in a non-metallic crystalline structure under extreme pressures, atomic wavefunctions deform to adopt a reduced rotational symmetry consistent with minimizing interstitial space in the crystal. We exemplify with a simple numeric variational calculation that yields the energy cost of this deformation for Helium to 25 %. Balancing this with the free energy gained by tighter packing we obtain the pressures required to effect such deformation. The consequent modification of the structure suggests a decrease in the resistance to tangential stress, and an associated decrease of the crystal’s shear modulus. The atomic form factor is also modified. We also compare with neutron matter in the interior of compact stars.

Crystalline color superconductors

Inhomogeneous superconductors and inhomogeneous superfluids appear in a variety of contexts including quark matter at extreme densities, fermionic systems of cold atoms, type-II cuprates, and organic superconductors. In the present review the focus is on properties of quark matter at high baryonic density, which may exist in the interior of compact stars. The conditions realized in these stellar objects tend to disfavor standard symmetric BCS pairing and may favor an inhomogeneous color superconducting phase. The properties of inhomogeneous color superconductors are discussed in detail and in particular of crystalline color superconductors. The possible astrophysical signatures associated with the presence of crystalline color superconducting phases within the core of compact stars are also reviewed.

Interplay between the symmetry energy and the strangeness content of neutron stars

The effect of the density dependence of the nucleonic equation of state and the hyperon meson couplings on the star properties, including strangeness content, mass and radius, are studied within a relativistic mean field formalism. It is shown that there is still lacking information on the nucleonic equation of state at supra-saturation densities and on the hyperon interactions in nuclear matter that will allow a clear answer to the question whether the mass of the pulsar J1614-2230 could rule out exotic degrees of freedom from the interior of compact stars. We show that some star properties are affected in a similar way by the density dependence of the symmetry energy and the hyperon content of the star. To disentangle these two effects it is essential to have a good knowledge of the equation of state at supra-saturation densities. A linear correlation between the radius and the strangeness content of a star with a fixed mass is obtained.

SCQGP in quark stars

From an analogy with non-relativistic degenerate QED plasma we make an estimate of the coupling strength of QGP hypothesized to be present in compact star interiors. At densities ranging from 3ρ0–10ρ0 (normal nuclear density ρ0=0.16 fm−3), quark matter is found to be strongly to intermediately coupled. The equation of state for QED plasma obtained via Pade approximation, modified to QGP, yields stable stellar sequences with maximum mass ≳2M⊙ for B1/4≲215 MeV.

Influence of a scalar-isovector δ-meson field on the quark phase structure in neutron stars

The deconfinement phase transition from hadronic matter to quark matter in the interior of compact stars is investigated. The hadronic phase is described in the framework of relativistic mean-field theory, where the scalar-isovector δ-meson effective field is also taken into account. The MIT bag model for describing a quark phase is used. The changes of the parameters of phase transition caused by the presence of a δ-meson field are explored. Finally, alterations in the integral and structural parameters of hybrid stars due to both a deconfinement phase transition and inclusion of a δ-meson field are discussed.

How strange are compact star interiors?

We discuss a Nambu–Jona–Lasinio (NJL)-type quantum field theoretical approach to the quark matter equation of state with color superconductivity and construct hybrid star models on this basis. It has recently been demonstrated that with increasing baryon density, the different quark flavors may occur sequentially, starting with down-quarks only, before the second light quark flavor and at highest densities the strange quark flavor also appears. We find that color superconducting phases are favorable over non-superconducting ones, which entails consequences for thermodynamic and transport properties of hybrid star matter. In particular, for NJL-type models no strange quark matter phases can occur in compact star interiors due to mechanical instability against gravitational collapse, unless a sufficiently strong flavor mixing as provided by the Kobayashi–Maskawa–'t Hooft determinant interaction is present in the model. We discuss observational data on mass–radius relationships of compact stars which can put constraints on the properties of the dense matter equation of state.

Neutrinos in dense quark matter and cooling of compact stars

We discuss that observational constraints on neutrino cooling processes may restrict the spectrum of quark matter phases admissible for compact star interiors.

Scalar-isovector δ-meson mean-field and mixed phase structure in compact stars

The deconfinement phase transition from hadronic matter to quark matter in the interior of compact stars is investigated. The hadronic phase is described in the framework of relativistic mean-field (RMF) theory, when also the scalar-isovector δ-meson effective field is taken into account. The MIT bag model for describing a quark phase is used. The changes of the parameters of phase transition caused by the presence of δ-meson field are investigated. Finally, alterations in the integral and structure parameters of hybrid stars due to deconfinement phase transitions are discussed.