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Title: Constraining neutron-star matter with microscopic and macroscopic collisions

Journal Article · · Nature (London)

Interpreting high-energy, astrophysical phenomena, such as supernova explosions or neutron-star collisions, requires a robust understanding of matter at supranuclear densities. However, our knowledge about dense matter explored in the cores of neutron stars remains limited. Fortunately, dense matter is not probed only in astrophysical observations, but also in terrestrial heavy-ion collision experiments. Here we use Bayesian inference to combine data from astrophysical multi-messenger observations of neutron stars and from heavy-ion collisions of gold nuclei at relativistic energies with microscopic nuclear theory calculations to improve our understanding of dense matter. We find that the inclusion of heavy-ion collision data indicates an increase in the pressure in dense matter relative to previous analyses, shifting neutron-star radii towards larger values, consistent with recent observations by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer mission. Our findings show that constraints from heavy-ion collision experiments show a remarkable consistency with multi-messenger observations and provide complementary information on nuclear matter at intermediate densities. This work combines nuclear theory, nuclear experiment and astrophysical observations, and shows how joint analyses can shed light on the properties of neutron-rich supranuclear matter over the density range probed in neutron stars.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP); German Research Foundation (DFG); Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); Max Planck Society; Swedish Research Council (SRC); National Science Foundation (NSF); French-German Collaboration; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); Helmholtz Graduate School for Hadron and Ion Research (HGS-HIRe); French Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Italian Istituto Nazionale della Fisica Nucleare (INFN)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001; AC02-05CH11231; AC52-06NA25396; PHY-2010970; OAC-2117997
OSTI ID:
1873355
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-21-22072; TRN: US2307008
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Vol. 606, Issue 7913; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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