Physical Society Colloquium

I will discuss how observations of neutron stars might be used to constrain the equation of state of matter at densities well over nuclear. I focus on two approaches. The first aims to determine the highest mass at which neutron stars can exist. I discuss tentative evidence for a 1.8 solar mass neutron star, whose existence, if proven, would exclude the occurrence of meson or quark condensation in neutron star interiors. Most neutron stars, however, turn out to have masses in a very narrow range, around 1.4 solar masses. The second approach, therefore, aims at measuring accurate radii. For this purpose, a recently uncovered class of hot neutron stars, which are nearby and bright, appears to be particularly suited. I will discuss observations we and others have taken in order to determine their properties.

Monday, February 18th 2002, 11:00
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, Boardroom (room 104)