Dense matter in compact stars - A pedagogical introduction

TL;DR

This paper provides a pedagogical overview of the theoretical approaches to understanding cold, dense matter in compact stars, linking microscopic models to astrophysical observations to identify the phases of dense matter.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive introduction to various theoretical methods for studying dense matter in compact stars, connecting models with observational data.

Findings

Microscopic models help interpret astrophysical signals.

Effective theories and perturbative QCD provide insights into dense matter.

Observations can potentially confirm or rule out phases of dense matter.

Abstract

Cold and dense nuclear and/or quark matter can be found in the interior of compact stars. It is very challenging to determine the ground state and properties of this matter because of the strong-coupling nature of QCD. I give a pedagogical introduction to microscopic calculations based on phenomenological models, effective theories, and perturbative QCD. I discuss how the results of these calculations can be related to astrophysical observations to potentially rule out or confirm candidate phases of dense matter.