Paper detail

Phenomenological QCD equations of state for neutron stars

We delineate the properties of QCD matter at baryon density n_B=1-10n_0 (n_0: nuclear saturation density), through the construction of neutron star equations of state that satisfy the neutron star mass-radius constraints as well as physical conditions on the speed of sound. The QCD matter is described in the 3-window modeling: at n_B < 2n_0 purely nuclear matter; at n_B > 5n_0 percolated quark matter; and at 2n_0 < n_B < 5n_0 matter intermediate between these two which are constructed by interpolation. Using a schematic quark model with effective interactions inspired from hadron and nuclear physics, we analyze the strength of interactions necessary to describe observed neutron star properties. Our finding is that the interactions should remain as strong as in the QCD vacuum, indicating that gluons at n_B =1-10 n_0 remain non-perturbative even after quark matter formation.