QCD against black holes of a star mass?

TL;DR

This paper explores how quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase transitions within neutron stars can prevent their collapse into black holes, potentially leading to gamma-ray bursts instead.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanism where QCD vacuum transitions cause heating and pressure buildup, halting neutron star collapse and possibly explaining gamma-ray bursts.

Findings

QCD phase transition causes significant heating in collapsing neutron stars.

Formation of a 'flaming wall' prevents black hole formation.

Potential link between neutron star collapse and gamma-ray bursts.

Abstract

Along with compacting baryon (neutron) spacing in a neutron star (NS), two very important factors come into play side by side: the lack of the NS gravitational self-stabilization against shutting to black hole (BH) and the phase transition - color deconfinement and QCD-vacuum reconstruction - within the nuclear matter the NS is composed of. That is why both phenomena should be taken into account at once, as the gravitational collapse is considered. Since, under the above transition, the hadronic-phase (HPh) vacuum (filled up with gluon- and chiral $q\bar q$-condensates) turns into the "empty" (perturbation) subhadronic-phase (SHPh) one and, thus, the formerly (very high) pressure falls down rather abruptly, the formerly cold nuclear medium starts imploding almost freely into the new vacuum. If the star mass is sufficiently large, then this implosion is shown to result in an enormous heating - up to the temperature about 100 MeV or, may be, even higher - and growth of the inner pressure due to degeneracy breaking and multiple $q\bar q$-pair production which withstands the gravitational compression (remind that the highest temperatures of supernovae bursts, as well as of the "normal" NS, are, at least, of one order lower). As a consequence, a "flaming wall" is, most probably, emerged on the way of further collapsing which prevents the NS to evolve towards the BH horizon appearance. At the same time, it could give rise to the most powerful GRBs produced by some very distant (young) stars.