Astrophysical constraints on the cold equation of state of the strongly interacting matter

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Kasza, Gábor, Takátsy, János, Wolf, György
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Kasza, Gábor
Takátsy, János
Wolf, György
author_facet Kasza, Gábor
Takátsy, János
Wolf, György
contents At present, the only experimental access to the properties of cold, dense strongly interacting matter is provided by astrophysical observations. Neutron stars are the only known systems in the Universe that reach densities several times higher than normal nuclear density at nearly zero temperature, making them unique laboratories for studying dense matter. Since most neutron star observables are sensitive to the equation of state (EOS), observational data place stringent constraints on the EOS of strongly interacting matter. In this work, we investigate constraints arising from perturbative QCD calculations at asymptotically high densities ($ρ\approx 40 ρ_0$), the mass of the heaviest observed neutron star (a black widow pulsar), NICER mass-radius measurements, and the tidal deformability inferred from the binary neutron star merger GW170817. We parametrize the EOS and allow its parameters to vary freely, using observational data to constrain the admissible parameter space. We find that neutron star observations significantly restrict the EOS of dense strongly interacting matter. While NICER has already provided measurements for five pulsars, the associated uncertainties remain relatively large. Within our modeling framework, we find that the existence of very massive neutron stars and constraints on the tidal deformability provide the most restrictive constraints on the EOS.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_19907
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Astrophysical constraints on the cold equation of state of the strongly interacting matter
Kasza, Gábor
Takátsy, János
Wolf, György
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Theory
At present, the only experimental access to the properties of cold, dense strongly interacting matter is provided by astrophysical observations. Neutron stars are the only known systems in the Universe that reach densities several times higher than normal nuclear density at nearly zero temperature, making them unique laboratories for studying dense matter. Since most neutron star observables are sensitive to the equation of state (EOS), observational data place stringent constraints on the EOS of strongly interacting matter. In this work, we investigate constraints arising from perturbative QCD calculations at asymptotically high densities ($ρ\approx 40 ρ_0$), the mass of the heaviest observed neutron star (a black widow pulsar), NICER mass-radius measurements, and the tidal deformability inferred from the binary neutron star merger GW170817. We parametrize the EOS and allow its parameters to vary freely, using observational data to constrain the admissible parameter space. We find that neutron star observations significantly restrict the EOS of dense strongly interacting matter. While NICER has already provided measurements for five pulsars, the associated uncertainties remain relatively large. Within our modeling framework, we find that the existence of very massive neutron stars and constraints on the tidal deformability provide the most restrictive constraints on the EOS.
title Astrophysical constraints on the cold equation of state of the strongly interacting matter
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.19907