Exploring magnetic properties of neutron-star matter through gravitational waves

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K03622
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 15010:Theoretical studies related to particle-, nuclear-, cosmic ray and astro-physics
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Baiotti Luca 大阪大学, インターナショナルカレッジ, 准教授 (00574047)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: Neutron stars / Binary mergers / Equations of state / Gravitational waves / Magnetic fields

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We have investigated one of the most mysterious objects in the universe: neutron stars. They are the highest-density objects in the universe and those with the highest magnetic fields. Their density reaches up to several times the nuclear density, where quarks are probably non-confined into hadrons (free quark matter). These densities allow us to study physics that is not reproducible in any terrestrial lab. Our research connected this ultra-high-density physics to observations of gravitational waves emitted by binary systems of neutron stars. We proposed ways to infer the presence of free quarks in neutron stars

Free Research Field

宇宙物理

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

学術的には、本プロジェクトは中性子星の中でクロスオーバーによって生じるフリークォーク物質について、重力波の観測を用いた実用的な研究への道を開いた。社会的には、人類の特権である知的充足感の源の一つである宇宙への理解を広げる努力に少しは貢献できたと思う。