The EOSs and the Blatant Discrepancy in Modelling Massive Neutron Stars: Origin and a Possible Solution Method

Exploring the state of ultra-cold supranuclear dense matter that makes up the cores of massive neutron stars is one of the greatest unresolved problems in modern physics. In this letter, we show that when the interiors of pulsars are made of compressible and dissipative normal matter, the commonly used solution procedures combined with the known EOSs yield widely scattered solutions and poorly determined radii. A remarkable agreement emerges, however, if pulsars harbour cores that are made of incompressible entropy-free superfluids (SuSu-matter) embedded in flat spacetimes. Such supranuclear dense matter should condensate to form false vacua as predicated by non-perterbative QCD vacuum. The solutions here are found to be physically consistent and mathematically elegant, irrespective of the object’s mass. Based thereon, we conclude that the true masses of massive NSs may differ significantly from those revealed by direct observation.

Revise Thermal Winds of Remnant Neutron Stars in Gamma-Ray Bursts

It seems that the wealth of information revealed by the multi-messenger observations of the binary neutron star(NS)merger event,GW170817/GRB 170817A/kilonova AT2017gfo,places irreconcilable constraints to models of the prompt emission of this gamma-ray burst(GRB).The observed time delay between the merger of the two NSs and the trigger of the GRB and the thermal tail of the prompt emission can hardly be reproduced by these models simultaneously.We argue that the merger remnant should be an NS(last for,at least,a large fraction of 1 s),and that the difficulty can be alleviated by the delayed formation of the accretion disk due to the absorption of high-energy neutrinos emitted by the NS and the delayed emergence of effective viscosity in the disk.Further,we extend the consideration of the effect of the energy deposition of neutrinos emitted from the NS.If the NS is the central object of a GRB with a distance and duration similar to that of GRB 170817A,thermal emission of the thermal bubble inflated by the NS after the termination of accretion may be detectable.If our scenario is verified,it would be of interest to investigate the cooling of nascent NSs.

Systematic comparison of initial velocities for neutron stars in different models

I have studied the initial velocity（Maxwellian and exponential distributions） and the scale height of isolated old（aged≥10^9yr） neutron stars（NSs） at different Galactocentric distances R in three population models. The smooth time-independent 3-D axisymmetric gravitational potentials（MiyamotoNagai and Paczy n′ski models） were also used. The correlation between these quantities significantly affects the shapes of the profiles and distributions of the simulated sample, because the differences in the initial kick can arise from differences in the formation and evolution of NSs with other physical parameters. The scale height of the density distribution increases systematically with R. I have also shown that the distribution of old NSs in these population models agrees with the observed structure of the Galaxy in terms of initial velocities（1-D and 3-D）, as well as the scale height distributions. These distributions tend to have an asymptotic behavior at the point R = 2.75 kpc. This means that the quality of the models can be described in terms of a mean of the fitted Gaussian, and this could also give an overall perspective of the phase space properties of nearby old NSs on a given gravitational potential.

Probing the Internal Physics of Neutron Stars through the Observed Braking Indices and Magnetic Tilt Angles of Several Young Pulsars

The braking indices of pulsars may contain important information about the internal physics of neutron stars(NSs),such as neutron superfluidity and internal magnetic fields.As a subsequent paper of Cheng et al.,we perform the same analysis as that done in the previous paper to other young pulsars with a steady braking index,n.Combining the timing data of these pulsars with the theory of magnetic field decay,and using their measured magnetic tilt angles,we can set constraints on the number of precession cycles,ξ,which represents the interactions between superfluid neutrons and other particles in the NS interior.For the pulsars considered in this paper,the results show thatξis within the range of a few×10~3 to a few×10~6.Interestingly,for the Crab and Vela pulsars,the constraints onξobtained with our method are generally consistent with that derived from modeling of the glitch rise behaviors of the two pulsars.Furthermore,we find that the internal magnetic fields of pulsar with n<3 may be dominated by the toroidal components.Our results may not only help to understand the interactions between the superfluid neutrons and other particles in the interior of NSs but also be important for the study of continuous gravitational waves from pulsars.

Observational Constraints on Quark Matter in Neutron Stars

We study the observational constraints of mass and redshift on the properties of the equation of state （EOS） for quark matter in compact stars based on the quasi-particle description. We discuss two scenarios; strange stars and hybrid stars. We construct the equations of state utilizing an extended MIT bag model taking the medium effect into account for quark matter and the relativistic mean field theory for hadron matter. We show that quark matter may exist in strange stars and in the interior of neutron stars. The bag constant is a key parameter that affects strongly the mass of strange stars. The medium effect can lead to the stiffer hybrid-star EOS approaching the pure hadronic EOS, due to the reduction of quark matter, and hence the existence of heavy hybrid stars. We find that a middle range coupling constant may be the best choice for the hybrid stars being compatible with the observational constraints.

Probing into the Possible Range of the U Bosonic Coupling Constants in Neutron Stars Containing Hyperons

The range of the U bosonic coupling constants in neutron star matter is a very interesting but still unsolved problem which has multifaceted influences in nuclear physics,particle physics,astrophysics and cosmology.The combination of the theoretical numerical simulation and the recent observations provides a very good opportunity to solve this problem.In the present work,the range of the U bosonic coupling constants is inferred based on the three relations of the mass–radius,mass-frequency and mass-tidal deformability in neutron stars containing hyperons using the GM1,TM1 and NL3 parameter sets under the two flavor symmetries of SU(6)and SU(3)in the framework of the relativistic mean field theory.Combined with observations from PSRs J1614-2230,J0348+0432,J2215-5135,J0952-0607,J0740+6620,J0030-0451,J1748-2446ad,XTE J1739-285,GW170817 and GW190814 events,our numerical results show that the U bosonic coupling constants may tend to be within the range from 0 to 20 GeV^(-2)in neutron star containing hyperons.Moreover,the numerical results of the three relations obtained by the SU(3)symmetry are better in accordance with observation data than those obtained by the SU(6)symmetry.The results will help us to improve the strict constraints of the equation of state for neutron stars containing hyperons.

From Finite Nuclei to Neutron Stars: The Essential Role of High-Order Density Dependence in Effective Forces

A unified description of finite nuclei and equation of state of neutron stars presents both a major challenge and also opportunities for understanding nuclear interactions.Inspired by the Lee-Huang-Yang formula of hardsphere gases,we develop effective nuclear interactions with an additional high-order density dependent term.While the original Skyrme force SLy4 is widely used in studies of neutron stars,there are not satisfactory global descriptions of finite nuclei.The refitted SLy4' force can improve descriptions of finite nuclei but slightly reduces the radius of neutron star of 1.4 M_☉ with M_☉ being the solar mass.We find that the extended SLy4 force with a higher-order density dependence can properly describe properties of both finite nuclei and GW170817 binary neutron stars,including the mass-radius relation and the tidal deformability.This demonstrates the essential role of high-order density dependence at ultrahigh densities.Our work provides a unified and predictive model for neutron stars,as well as new insights for the future development of effective interactions.

Resonant cyclotron scattering in pulsar magnetospheres and its application to isolated neutron stars

Resonant cyclotron scattering （RCS） in pulsar magnetospheres is considered. The photon diffusion equation （Kompaneets equation） for RCS is derived. The photon system is modeled three dimensionally. Numerical calculations show that there exist not only up scattering but also down scattering of RCS, depending on the parameter space. RCS＇s possible applications to spectral energy distributions of magnetar candidates and radio quiet isolated neutron stars （INSs） are pointed out. The optical/UV excess of INSs may be caused by the down scattering of RCS. The calculations for RX J1856.5-3754 and RX J0720.4-3125 are presented and compared with their observational data. In our model, the INSs are proposed to be normal neutron stars, although the quark star hypothesis is still possible. The low pulsation amplitude of INSs is a natural consequence in the RCS model.

R-mode instability of strange stars and observations of neutron stars in LMXBs

Using a realistic equation of state （EOS） of strange quark matter, namely, the modified bag model, and considering the constraints on the parameters of EOS by the observational mass limit of neutron stars, we investigate the r-mode instability window of strange stars, and find the same result as in the brief study of Haskell, Degenaar and Ho in 2012 that these instability windows are not consistent with the spin frequency and temperature observations of neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries.

Long-term evolution and gravitational wave radiation of neutron stars with differential rotation induced by r-modes

In a second-order r-mode theory, Sa and Tome found that the r-mode oscillation in neutron stars （NSs） could induce stellar differential rotation, which naturally leads to a saturated state of the oscillation. Based on a consideration of the coupling of the r-modes and the stellar spin and thermal evolution, we carefully investigate the influences of the differential rotation on the long-term evolution of isolated NSs and NSs in low-mass X-ray binaries, where the viscous damping of the r-modes and its resultant effects are taken into account. The numerical results show that, for both kinds of NSs, the differential rotation can significantly prolong the duration of the r-modes. As a result, the stars can keep nearly a constant temperature and constant angular velocity for over a thousand years. Moreover, the persistent radiation of a quasi-monochromatic gravitational wave would also be predicted due to the long-term steady r-mode oscillation and stellar rotation. This increases the detectability of gravitational waves from both young isolated and old accreting NSs.

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 6-meson effec- tive 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.

Neutron stars:a relativistic study

We study the inner structure of a neutron star from a theoretical point of view and the outcome results are compared with observed data. We propose a stiff equation of state relating pressure with matter density. From our study we calculate mass（M）,compactness（u） and surface redshift（Zs） for two binary millisecond pulsars,namely PSR J1614–2230 and PSR J1903＋327,and four X-ray binaries,namely Cen X-3,SMC X-1,Vela X-1 and Her X-1,and compare them with recent observational data.Finally,we examine the stability for such a type of theoretical structure.

The optical/ultraviolet excess of isolated neutron stars in the resonant cyclotron scattering model

X-ray dim isolated neutron stars are peculiar pulsar-like objects, characterized by their Planck-like spectrum. In studying their spectral energy distributions, optical/ultraviolet （UV） excess is a long standing problem. Recently Kaplan et al. measured the optical/UV excess for all seven sources, which is understandable in the resonant cyclotron scattering （RCS） model previously addressed. The RCS model calculations show that the RCS process can account for the observed optical/UV excess for most sources. The flat spectrum of RX J2143.0＋0654 may be due to contributions from the bremsstrahlung emission of the electron system in addition to the RCS process.

Thermal evolution of neutron stars with decaying magnetic fields

Rotochemical heating originates in the deviation from beta equilibrium due to spin-down compression, which is closely related to the dipole magnetic field. We numerically calculate the deviation from chemical equilibrium and thermal evolution of neutron stars with decaying magnetic fields. We find that the power-law long term decay of the magnetic field slightly affects the deviation from chemical equilibrium and surface temperature. However, the magnetic decay leads to older neutron stars that could have a different surface temperature with the same magnetic field strength. That is, older neutron stars with a low magnetic field （10^8 G） could have a lower temper- ature even with rotochemical heating in operation, which probably explains the lack of other observations on older millisecond pulsars with higher surface temperature, except millisecond pulsar J0437-4715.

Strange Stars: Can Their Crust Reach the Neutron Drip Density?

The electrostatic potential of electrons near the surface of static strange stars at zero temperature is studied within the frame of the MIT bag model. We find that for QCD parameters within rather wide ranges, if the nuclear crust on the strange star is at a density leading to neutron drip, then the electrostatic potential will be insufficient to establish an outwardly directed electric field, which is crucial for the survival of such a crust. If a minimum gap width of 200 fm is brought in as a more stringent constraint, then our calculations will completely rule out the possibility of such crusts. Therefore, our results argue against the existence of neutron-drip crusts in nature.

Hyperon Effects on the Spin Parameter of Rotating Neutron Stars

Based on the equations of state from the relativistic mean field theory without and with the inclusion of strangeness-bearing hyperons, we study the dimensionless spin parameter j = cJ/（GM2） of uniformly rotat- ing neutron stars. It is shown that the maximum value of the spin parameter jmax of a neutron star rotating at the Keplerian frequency fK is .jmax - 0.7 when the star mass M 〉 0.SM⊙, which is sustained for various versions of equations of state without and with hyperons. The relationship between j and the scaled rotation frequency f /fK is found to be insensitive to the star mass or the adopted equation of state in the models without hyperons. However, the emergence of byperons in neutron stars will lead to an uncertainty of the spin parameter j, which in turn could generate a complexity in the theoretical study of the quasi-periodic oscillations observed in disk-accreting compact-star systems.

Effects of Gravitational Correction on Neutrino Emission from Neutron Stars

Considering the gravitational correction through introduction of weakly interacting light vector U bosons, not only the equation of state （EoS） of the neutron star matter, but also the cooling properties of neutron stars may be changed. In this work, effects of gravitational correction on neutrino emission and cooling of neutron stars in the matter with neutrons, protons, electrons, muons, △- and △0 are studied by the relativistic mean field theory and the related cooling theory. The results show that the effects are sensitive to the ratio of coupling strength to mass squared of U bosons, defined as gu. With increasing gu, the radial region where direct Urca process of nucleons can be allowed in a neutron star with the fixed mass becomes narrower, while the neutrino emissivity is somewhat higher. Moreover, the gravitational correction suppresses the effects of △- on neutrino emission. The gravitational correction leads the star to cool faster, and the higher the gu is, the faster the star cools.

Influence of strong magnetic field on β decay in the crusts of neutron stars

β decay in the strong magnetic field of the crusts of neutron stars is analysed by an improved method. The reactions ^67Ni（β-）^67Cu and ^62Mn（β-）^62Fe are investigated as examples. The results show that a weak magnetic field has little effect on β decay but a strong magnetic field （B 〉 10^12G） increases β decay rates obviously. The conclusion derived may be crucial to the research of late evolution of neutron stars and nucleosynthesis in r-process.

The Effect of Hyperon-Hyperon Interaction on Neutron Stars

The equations ofstate of the neutron star matter are calculated in the relativistic mean-field approximation witl different hyperon coupling constants. The properties of neutron stars are studied by solving the OppenheimerVolkoff equation. It manifests the properties of neutron stars - change explicitly as different hyperon coupling constants are concerned.

The Effective Chiral Model of Quantum Hadrodynamics Applied to Nuclear Matter and Neutron Stars

We review theoretical relations between macroscopic properties of neutron stars and microscopic quantities of nuclear matter, such as consistency of hadronic nuclear models and observed masses of neutron stars. The relativistic hadronic field theory, quantum hadrodynamics (QHD), and mean-field approximations of the theory are applied to saturation properties of symmetric nuclear and neutron matter. The equivalence between mean-field approximations and Hartree approximation is emphasized in terms of renormalized effective masses and effective coupling constants of hadrons. This is important to prove that the direct application of mean-field (Hartree) approximation to nuclear and neutron matter is inadequate to examine physical observables. The equations of state (EOS), binding energies of nuclear matter, self-consistency of nuclear matter, are reviewed, and the result of chiral Hartree-Fock ?approximation is shown. Neutron stars and history of nuclear astrophysics, nuclear model and nuclear matter, possibility of hadron and hadron-quark neutron stars are briefly reviewed. The hadronic models are very useful and practical for understanding astrophysical phenomena, nuclear matter and radiation phenomena of nuclei.