Determining the Equation of State of Cold, Dense Matter with X-ray Observations of Neutron Stars

Understand

The unknown state of matter at ultra-high density, large proton/neutron number asymmetry, and low temperature is a major long-standing problem in modern physics.

• Neutron stars provide the only known setting in the Universe where matter in this regime can stably exist.
• Valuable information about the interior structure of neutron stars can be extracted via sensitive observations of their exteriors.
• There are several complementary techniques that require different combinations of high time resolution, superb spectral resolution, and high spatial resolution.