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Main Authors: Arruda, P. H. F., Campos, S. D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08672
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author Arruda, P. H. F.
Campos, S. D.
author_facet Arruda, P. H. F.
Campos, S. D.
contents We study phase-transition-like behavior in neutron stars using a simplified, piecewise equation of state that couples a modified van der Waals-type core to a polytropic crust. The model remains analytically tractable while allowing for nonlinear density dependence. We impose thermodynamic and causal consistency conditions and determine the critical densities at which the curvature of the pressure-energy density relation changes. In the non-relativistic limit, the generalized Lane-Emden equations describe a smooth core-crust transition layer. We integrate the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations across different $(τ_1,σ_1)$ regimes, where these parameters encode thermal and interaction effects in the core. The resulting mass-radius sequences yield low neutron star masses $(0.99-2.05)M_{\odot}$, and the chemical potential exhibits the characteristic signatures of phase-transition behavior at densities well above the matching point. Our results show that analytic EOS models can reproduce the key phenomenology of phase transitions and provide a controlled framework for exploring low-mass neutron star configurations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_08672
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Low-Mass Neutron Stars and Effective Phase Transitions from a Hybrid Van der Waals-Polytropic Equation of State
Arruda, P. H. F.
Campos, S. D.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
We study phase-transition-like behavior in neutron stars using a simplified, piecewise equation of state that couples a modified van der Waals-type core to a polytropic crust. The model remains analytically tractable while allowing for nonlinear density dependence. We impose thermodynamic and causal consistency conditions and determine the critical densities at which the curvature of the pressure-energy density relation changes. In the non-relativistic limit, the generalized Lane-Emden equations describe a smooth core-crust transition layer. We integrate the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations across different $(τ_1,σ_1)$ regimes, where these parameters encode thermal and interaction effects in the core. The resulting mass-radius sequences yield low neutron star masses $(0.99-2.05)M_{\odot}$, and the chemical potential exhibits the characteristic signatures of phase-transition behavior at densities well above the matching point. Our results show that analytic EOS models can reproduce the key phenomenology of phase transitions and provide a controlled framework for exploring low-mass neutron star configurations.
title Low-Mass Neutron Stars and Effective Phase Transitions from a Hybrid Van der Waals-Polytropic Equation of State
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08672