Scientists have discovered 3 neutron stars that have cooled down surprisingly fast, providing new insights into the exotic physics inside these dense stars.
Neutron stars are the collapsed cores of massive stars, containing over 1.4 times the mass of our Sun compressed into a tiny sphere about 12 miles wide. Their interiors possess some of the most extreme conditions in the universe.
The 3 neutron stars were found to have much lower surface temperatures than other neutron stars of similar ages, indicating they must be cooling rapidly through some mechanism.
Neutron stars can cool via thermal radiation from their surfaces or neutrino emission from their cores. The fast cooling of these 3 stars suggests enhanced neutrino emission.
The rate of neutrino cooling depends on the neutron star’s unknown “equation of state” that describes its internal composition under immense pressure and density.
By comparing cooling rates to theoretical models, the discovery excludes about 75% of possible equations of state that were previously considered viable.
Narrowing the equation of state options brings scientists closer to understanding the exotic physics within neutron stars, like what form matter takes at extreme densities, which may help unify quantum mechanics and general relativity.
Source: Space
