Astrophysics of dense quark matter in compact stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent research on the microphysics and observable phenomena of neutron stars with quark matter cores, including stability, gravitational waves, cooling, and pulsar timing anomalies.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in understanding the astrophysics of dense quark matter in compact stars.

Findings

Stable configurations of quark core neutron stars

Potential gravitational wave signals from quark core deformations

Distinct cooling behaviors linked to quark matter presence

Abstract

Massive neutron stars may harbor deconfined quark matter in their cores. I review some recent work on the microphysics and the phenomenology of compact stars with cores made of quark matter. This includes the equilibrium and stability of non-rotating and rapidly rotating stars, gravitational radiation from deformations in their quark cores, neutrino radiation and dichotomy of fast and slow cooling, and pulsar radio-timing anomalies.