Extracting Nuclear Symmetry Energies at High Densities from Observations of Neutron Stars and Gravitational Waves

Abstract

By numerically inverting the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov (TOV) equation using an explicitly isospin-dependent parametric Equation of State (EOS) of dense neutron-rich nucleonic matter, a restricted EOS parameter space is established using observational constraints on the radius, maximum mass, tidal polarizability and causality condition of neutron stars (NSs). The constraining band obtained for the pressure as a function of energy (baryon) density is in good agreement with that extracted recently by the LIGO+Virgo Collaborations from their improved analyses of the NS tidal polarizability in GW170817. Rather robust upper and lower boundaries on nuclear symmetry energies are extracted from the observational constraints up to about twice the saturation density ${\rho }_0$ of nuclear matter. More quantitatively, the symmetry energy at $2{\rho }_0$ is constrained to $E_{\mathrm{sym}}(2{\rho }_0)=46.9\pm 10.1$ MeV excluding many existing theoretical predictions scattered between $E_{\mathrm{sym}}(2{\rho }_0)=15$ and 100 MeV. Moreover, by studying variations of the causality surface where the speed of sound equals that of light at central densities of the most massive neutron stars within the restricted EOS parameter space, the absolutely maximum mass of neutron stars is found to be 2.40 M${}_{\odot }$ approximately independent of the EOSs used. This limiting mass is consistent with findings of several recent analyses and numerical general relativity simulations about the maximum mass of the possible super-massive remanent produced in the immediate aftermath of GW170817.

Version accepted. No change in conclusions. Added 6 new figures and associated discussions to address issues on (1) Why/how to go beyond the popular polytrope EOSs, (2) how to numerically solve the NS inverse-structure problem, (3) how an absolutely maximum mass of 2.4 M_sun independent of the EOS is obtained in comparison with earlier predictions and reports after GW170817

References in corpus (50)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Shapiro delay measurement of a two solar mass neutron star
• A Massive Pulsar in a Compact Relativistic Binary
• GW170817: Measurements of Neutron Star Radii and Equation of State
• Neutron Star Observations: Prognosis for Equation of State Constraints
• Tidal Love numbers of neutron stars
• Gravitational-wave constraints on the neutron-star-matter Equation of State
• Constraining the Maximum Mass of Neutron Stars From Multi-Messenger Observations of GW170817
• Using gravitational-wave observations and quasi-universal relations to constrain the maximum mass of neutron stars
• New constraints on radii and tidal deformabilities of neutron stars from GW170817
• Tidal Deformabilities and Radii of Neutron Stars from the Observation of GW170817
• GW170817: Joint Constraint on the Neutron Star Equation of State from Multimessenger Observations
• Neutron-star radius constraints from GW170817 and future detections
• Relativistic Mean-Field Hadronic Models under Nuclear Matter Constraints
• Modeling GW170817 based on numerical relativity and its implications
• Neutron skins and neutron stars in the multi-messenger era
• GW170817, General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations, and the Neutron Star Maximum Mass
• Neutron skin of 208Pb, nuclear symmetry energy, and the parity radius experiment
• Constraints on the high-density nuclear equation of state from the phenomenology of compact stars and heavy-ion collisions
• Constraints on neutron star radii based on chiral effective field theory interactions
• A critical examination of constraints on the equation of state of dense matter obtained from GW170817
• Peering into the dark side: magnesium lines establish a massive neutron star in PSR J2215+5135
• GW170817: constraining the nuclear matter equation of state from the neutron star tidal deformability
• Results of the ASY-EOS experiment at GSI: The symmetry energy at suprasaturation density
• Constraints on the Symmetry Energy Using the Mass-Radius Relation of Neutron Stars
• Constraining the Mass and Radius of Neutron Stars in Globular Clusters
• Tidal deformability from GW170817 as a direct probe of the neutron star radius
• Symmetry energy from elliptic flow in 197Au + 197Au
• Spectral Representations of Neutron-Star Equations of State
• Density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy: a microscopic perspective
• Nucleon Effective Masses in Neutron-Rich Matter
• Neutron star tidal deformabilities constrained by nuclear theory and experiment
• Combined Constraints on the Equation of State of Dense Neutron-Rich Matter from Terrestrial Experiments and Observations of Neutron Stars
• Constraining the High-Density Behavior of Nuclear Symmetry Energy with the Tidal Polarizability of Neutron Stars
• Constraints on interquark interaction parameters with GW170817 in a binary strange star scenario
• Comparison of heavy-ion transport simulations: Collision integral in a box
• Neutron star equation of state from the quark level in the light of GW170817
• The allowed parameter space of a long-lived neutron star as the merger remnant of GW170817
• Causal Representations of Neutron-Star Equations of State
• Rapid neutrino cooling in the neutron star MXB 1659-29
• Generic Constraints on the Relativistic Mean-Field and Skyrme-Hartree-Fock Models from the Pure Neutron Matter Equation of State
• Delineating Effects of Nuclear Symmetry Energy on the Radii and Tidal Polarizabilities of Neutron Stars
• Constraints on the symmetry energy from observational probes of the neutron star crust
• Impact of the equation-of-state -- gravity degeneracy on constraining the nuclear symmetry energy from astrophysical observables
• Constraining properties of rapidly rotating neutron stars using data from heavy-ion collisions
• Symmetry energy systematics and its high density behavior
• Imprints of the nuclear symmetry energy on gravitational waves from the axial w-modes of neutron stars
• Quark mean-field model for nuclear matter with or without bag
• Short-range correlations in isospin symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter: a microscopic perspective
• Constraining neutron-star equation of state using heavy-ion collisions

Cited by in corpus (83)

• Gravitational waves from neutron star mergers and their relation to the nuclear equation of state
• Progress in Constraining Nuclear Symmetry Energy Using Neutron Star Observables Since GW170817
• Towards Understanding Astrophysical Effects of Nuclear Symmetry Energy
• Interpreting Binary Neutron Star Mergers: Describing the Binary Neutron Star Dynamics, Modelling Gravitational Waveforms, and Analyzing Detections
• Bayesian Inference of High-density Nuclear Symmetry Energy from Radii of Canonical Neutron Stars
• GW190814's secondary component with mass $(2.50-2.67)$ M${}_{\odot }$ as a super-fast pulsar
• Heavy Baryons in Compact Stars
• Bayesian Inference of the Symmetry Energy of Super-Dense Neutron-Rich Matter from Future Radius Measurements of Massive Neutron Stars
• PSR J0030+0451, GW170817 and the nuclear data: joint constraints on equation of state and bulk properties of neutron stars
• Maximum gravitational mass $M_{\mathrm{TOV}}=2.25_{-0.07}^{+0.08}{M}_{\odot }$ inferred at about $3\%$ precision with multimessenger data of neutron stars
• Neutron star equation of state: QMF modeling and applications
• Probing the neutron skin with ultrarelativistic isobaric collisions
• Implications of the mass $M=2.17_{-0.10}^{+0.11}$M${}_{\odot }$ of PSR~J0740+6620 on the Equation of State of Super-Dense Neutron-Rich Nuclear Matter
• Bayesian inference of dense matter EOS encapsulating a first-order hadron-quark phase transition from observables of canonical neutron stars
• Insights on Skyrme parameters from GW170817
• Constraints on the Symmetry Energy from PREX-II in the Multimessenger Era
• GW170817 implications on the frequency and damping time of f-mode oscillations of neutron stars
• Equation of state of dense matter in the multimessenger era
• Effects of the equation of state on the bulk properties of maximally-rotating neutron stars
• Constraining hadron-quark phase transition parameters within the quark-mean-field model using multimessenger observations of neutron stars
• Curvature-slope correlation of nuclear symmetry energy and its imprints on the crust-core transition, radius and tidal deformability of canonical neutron stars
• Symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities via the Gravitational Waves from GW170817
• Are nuclear matter properties correlated to neutron star observables ?
• Impact of the nuclear symmetry energy on the post-merger phase of a binary neutron star coalescence
• Thermal evolution of relativistic hyperonic compact stars with calibrated equations of state
• Neutron stars with large quark cores
• Impact of NICER's Radius Measurement of PSR J0740+6620 on Nuclear Symmetry Energy at Suprasaturation Densities
• Role of the symmetry energy and the neutron-matter stiffness on the tidal deformability of a neutron star with unified equations of state
• Unified neutron star EOSs and neutron star structures in RMF models
• Translating neutron star observations to nuclear symmetry energy via artificial neural networks
• Insights on pion production mechanism and symmetry energy at high density
• Constraining the nuclear symmetry energy and properties of neutron star from GW170817 by Bayesian analysis
• Probing hybrid stars with gravitational waves via interfacial modes
• The Emission Order of Hydrogen Isotopes via Correlation Functions in 30 MeV/u Ar+Au Reactions
• Bayesian inference of the incompressibility, skewness and kurtosis of nuclear matter from empirical pressures in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
• A New Approach to Mass and Radius of Neutron Stars with Supernova Neutrinos
• Resonant Shattering Flares as Multimessenger Probes of the Nuclear Symmetry Energy
• Probing high-density nuclear symmetry energy with ${\Xi }^{-}/{\Xi }^0$ ratio in heavy-ion collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}\sim 3$ GeV
• A pseudo-conformal structure in dense baryonic matter
• Unveiling the correlations of tidal deformability with the nuclear symmetry energy parameters
• $R$-mode Stability of GW190814's Secondary Component as a Supermassive and Superfast Pulsar
• Impact of Symmetry Energy on Sound Speed and Spinodal Decomposition in Dense Neutron-Rich Matter
• Constraints on the muon fraction and density profile in neutron stars
• Nuclear Matter and Neutron Stars from Relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock Theory
• Effect of Inner Crust EoS on Neutron star properties
• Symmetry energy effects on the properties of hybrid stars
• Unified nuclear matter EOSs constrained by the in-medium balance in density-dependent covariant density functionals
• Nuclear pasta structures and symmetry energy
• Bayesian Inference of Fine-Features of Nuclear Equation of State from Future Neutron Star Radius Measurements to 0.1km Accuracy
• Neutron star matter based on a parity doublet model including the $a_0(980)$ meson
• Central Speed of Sound, Trace Anomaly and Observables of Neutron Stars from Perturbative Analyses of Scaled TOV Equations
• Setting nonperturbative uncertainties on finite-temperature properties of neutron matter
• Impact of The Newly Revised Gravitational Redshift of X-ray Burster GS 1826-24 on The Equation of State of Supradense Neutron-Rich Matter
• A bag model of matter condensed by the strong interaction
• Core States of Neutron Stars from Anatomizing their Scaled Structure Equations
• Studies of the equation-of-state of nuclear matter by heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energy in the multi-messenger era
• Empirical radius formulas for canonical neutron stars from bidirectionally selecting EOS features in extended Bayesian analyses of observational data
• Properties of quark matter and hybrid stars from a quasiparticle model
• Constraints on Skyrme Equations of State from Doubly Magic Nuclei, Ab-Initio Calculations of Low-Density Neutron Matter, and Neutron Stars
• Properties of Hybrid Stars with Density Dependent Bag Model
• Impact of the nuclear equation of state on the formation of twin stars
• Properties of First-Order Hadron-Quark Phase Transition from Inverting Neutron Star Observables
• Novel Scalings of Neutron Star Properties from Analyzing Dimensionless Tolman--Oppenheimer--Volkoff Equations
• A CsI hodoscope on CSHINE for Bremsstrahlung γ-rays in Heavy Ion Reactions
• Nuclear Symmetry Energy and Neutron Skin Thickness of ${}^{208}Pb$ using a finite range effective interaction
• Relativistic self-energy decomposition of nuclear symmetry energy and equation of state of neutron matter within QCD sum rules
• The methods of thermal field theory for degenerate quantum plasmas in astrophysical compact objects
• The key factor to determine the relation between radius and tidal deformability of neutron stars: slope of symmetry energy
• High Density with Elliptic Flows
• The nuclear symmetry energy from relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock model
• Hyperonization in compact stars
• Topology change and nuclear symmetry energy in compact-star matter
• Symmetry energy of super-dense neutron-rich matter from integrating barotropic pressures in neutron stars and heavy-ion reactions
• Vetting quark-star models with gravitational waves in the hierarchical Bayesian framework
• Lifting the Veil on Quark Matter in Compact Stars with Core g-mode Oscillations
• Bayesian Inference of Hybrid Star Properties from Future High-Precision Measurements of Their Radii
• Imprints of high-density nuclear symmetry energy on the crustal fraction of neutron star moment of inertia
• Neutron star properties: Constraining the nuclear matter EoS
• Role of symmetry energy at subnuclear densities in protoneutron star crusts
• Effects of isoscalar- and isovector-scalar meson mixing on neutron star structure
• Bayesian Constraints on the Neutron Star Equation of State with a Smooth Hadron-Quark Crossover
• In-medium pion dispersion relation and medium correction of $N\pi \leftrightarrow \Delta$ near the threshold energy of pion production
• Bayesian Inference of fine-features of dense matter EOS from future high-precision data of neutron star radii