PSILOGO

Laboratory for Particle Physics (LTP)


LTP Colloquium

Recent Measurements of Neutron Star Masses and Radii as Probes of Nuclear Physics

Thursday, October 10, 2024, 16:00
WHGA Auditorium

Sebastien Guillot, University of Toulouse

Abstract:
More than 50 years after the discovery of neutrons stars, their interior composition and structure remains unknown. Because the extreme densities and matter asymmetry in neutron star interiors are out of reach for Earth laboratories, the equation of state of bulk nuclear matter is unknown, with important implication for astrophysics and nuclear physics. Thankfully, measurements of neutron stars masses and radii are direct probes of the interior of these compact objects. In the past two decades, X-ray observatories have provided some measurements of neutron star radii and therefore some constraints on the dense matter equation of state. But recently, the results from the NICER Observatory have provided the most promising, robust and precise constraints. I will review some of the key results from the NICER mission (including the most recent measurements) and give an overview of other existing measurements of masses and radii. Finally, I will detail future prospects to constrain the equation of state of dense nuclear matter with future X-ray observatories.