Phase transition in compact stars: nucleation mechanism and $\gamma$-ray bursts revisited

Abstract

We have revisited the nucleation process based on the Lifshitz-Kagan theory, which is the underlying mechanism of conversion of a pulsar constituted of hadronic matter to a quark star. We have selected appropriate models that have been tested against experimental and observational constraints to restrict the model arbitrariness present in previous investigations. The phase transition pressures and chemical potentials have been identified and afterwards, the tunneling probabilities and the nucleation time were computed. The critical pressures for which the half life of the metastable hadronic phase is one year were obtained. Even with the restrictions imposed to the selection of models, the results remained model dependent, but we found that the tunneling that makes possible the appearance of stable matter requires an overpressure that is practically independent of the quark matter bag constant. Finally, we have confirmed that the nucleation process can be one of the causes of gamma-ray bursts.

arXiv comment21 pages, 11 figures

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• Hadron-quark phase transition: the QCD phase diagram and stellar conversion
• Probing the impact of Delta-Baryons on Nuclear Matter and Non-Radial Oscillations in Neutron Stars
• QCD Phase Diagrams via QHD and MIT-Based Models
• A strange dwarf scenario for the formation of the peculiar double white dwarf binary SDSS J125733.63+542850.5
• A Strange Star Scenario for the Formation of Eccentric Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1946+3417
• Effects of Strong Magnetic Fields on the Hadron-Quark Deconfinement Transition