Speaker
Description
Neutron stars are cosmic laboratories uniquely poised to determine the nuclear equation of state (EOS). The historical detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration and other critical observations since then are providing new insights into the nature of neutron-rich matter. In turn, the recent extraction of the neutron skin thickness of 208Pb by the PREX collaboration seems to suggest that the EOS in the vicinity of nuclear matter saturation density is stiff. This creates some tension with the tidal deformability of a 1.4 Msun neutron star reported by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration that suggests that the EOS at slighter higher densities is soft. If confirmed, this situation may provide evidence in favor of a phase transition in the interior of neutron stars.
