Strangeon Ergostars

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xia, Haojia, Chen, Shichuan, Li, Hong-Bo, Zhou, Enping, Xu, Ren-Xin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911353977962496
author Xia, Haojia
Chen, Shichuan
Li, Hong-Bo
Zhou, Enping
Xu, Ren-Xin
author_facet Xia, Haojia
Chen, Shichuan
Li, Hong-Bo
Zhou, Enping
Xu, Ren-Xin
contents The nature of the central engine powering short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) in binary neutron star (BNS) mergers remains a key open question in the era of multi-messenger astronomy. The ergostar hypothesis, that a rapidly rotating star with an ergoregion drives the relativistic jet, offers an alternative explanation to the black hole-accretion disk paradigm. However, previous studies based on conventional neutron star equations of state (EOSs) have shown that dynamically stable ergostars do not exist unless very extreme EOS or rotation are adopted, casting significant doubt on their astrophysical viability in reality. In this work, however, we examine this hypothesis using a phenomenological EOS of strangeon matter, i.e., condensed matter with nucleon-like units for three flavors of quarks. By constructing a large suite of uniformly rotating equilibrium models, we systematically investigate the parameter space of the stable ergostars and calculate their maximum extractable energy. In contrast to the case of conventional EOSs, we demonstrate that strangeon matter supports a vast and robust parameter space for dynamically stable ergostars, even without requiring differential rotation. We find that the extractable rotational energy from these configurations can be on the order of $0.01 M_\odot$, a reservoir sufficient to power a typical sGRB. Our results revitalize the ergostar as a viable central engine for sGRB, suggesting that BNS merger remnants composed of exotic matter could play a crucial, previously underestimated role in high-energy astrophysics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_01949
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strangeon Ergostars
Xia, Haojia
Chen, Shichuan
Li, Hong-Bo
Zhou, Enping
Xu, Ren-Xin
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
The nature of the central engine powering short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) in binary neutron star (BNS) mergers remains a key open question in the era of multi-messenger astronomy. The ergostar hypothesis, that a rapidly rotating star with an ergoregion drives the relativistic jet, offers an alternative explanation to the black hole-accretion disk paradigm. However, previous studies based on conventional neutron star equations of state (EOSs) have shown that dynamically stable ergostars do not exist unless very extreme EOS or rotation are adopted, casting significant doubt on their astrophysical viability in reality. In this work, however, we examine this hypothesis using a phenomenological EOS of strangeon matter, i.e., condensed matter with nucleon-like units for three flavors of quarks. By constructing a large suite of uniformly rotating equilibrium models, we systematically investigate the parameter space of the stable ergostars and calculate their maximum extractable energy. In contrast to the case of conventional EOSs, we demonstrate that strangeon matter supports a vast and robust parameter space for dynamically stable ergostars, even without requiring differential rotation. We find that the extractable rotational energy from these configurations can be on the order of $0.01 M_\odot$, a reservoir sufficient to power a typical sGRB. Our results revitalize the ergostar as a viable central engine for sGRB, suggesting that BNS merger remnants composed of exotic matter could play a crucial, previously underestimated role in high-energy astrophysics.
title Strangeon Ergostars
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.01949