An equation of state for dense nuclear matter such as neutron stars

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Various techniques give values for the ratio of the speed of sound c s squared to the square of the speed of light as it varies with isospin chemical potential. NLO χPT: next-to-leading order chiral perturbation theory; pQCD: perturbative quantum chromodynamics; LQCD: lattice quantum chromodynamics; GP: Gaussian process combination. Note the LQCD result peaks at √(3/4). Credit: Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.011903 Neutron stars are some of the densest objects in the universe. They are the core of a collapsed megastar that went supernova, have a typical radius of 10 km—just slightly more than the altitude of Mt. Everest—and their density can be several times that of atomic nuclei. Physicists love extreme objects like this because they require them to stretch their theories in ... Read full article.