Studying neutron stars is tricky due to their vast distance and tiny size. Telescopes can’t provide detailed information, and no lab on Earth can replicate the intense conditions inside these compact objects. However, researchers have made progress in understanding neutron star properties using a combination of theory-based methods and computer simulations.
Ryan Abbott from MIT and colleagues used lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) to study the properties of extreme-density nuclear matter. They demonstrated that the speed of sound in this matter exceeds previously proposed limits, potentially allowing neutron stars to grow larger than 2 solar masses before collapsing into black holes.
The researchers also put rigorous bounds on the properties of matter inside neutron stars, providing a valuable test bed for various models and approximation methods. This approach has opened up new avenues for computational studies of neutron star matter, including potential constraints on viscosities and conductivities relevant to understanding spin-down and cooling processes.
These findings have significant implications for our understanding of neutron star physics and the behavior of extreme-density nuclear matter. Further extensions of this work may lead to predictions based on astrophysical observations, marking a promising direction in the field of computer simulation of neutron stars.
Source: https://physics.aps.org/articles/v18/1