Electromagnetic signal of the QCD phase transition in neutron star mergers
Journal
Physical Review D
Journal Volume
88
Pages
83006
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Lance Labun
Abstract
Mergers of binary neutron stars create conditions of supranuclear density nâ‰nnucâ‰0.17 fm-3 and moderate temperature 50â‰Tâ‰90 MeV. These events thus probe a sensitive region of the density-temperature phase diagram of QCD matter. We study photon production by the QCD conformal anomaly for a signal of a possible transition to quark degrees of freedom during the merger. We discuss energy loss due to photon radiation as a cooling mechanism that is sensitive to the bulk viscosity and thermal conductivity of the quark matter. © 2013 American Physical Society.
Type
journal article