Quark-Hadron Phase Transition with Finite-Size Effects in Neutron Stars

TL;DR

This paper investigates the quark-hadron phase transition in neutron stars, emphasizing finite-size effects and their impact on the equation of state and observable properties like mass-radius relations.

Contribution

It introduces a model incorporating finite-size effects with surface tension in the phase transition, aligning theoretical predictions with astrophysical observations.

Findings

Finite-size effects significantly influence the phase transition behavior.

Strong surface tension leads to an EOS similar to Maxwell construction.

Mass-radius relations are consistent with observed neutron star data.

Abstract

We study the quark-hadron phase transition with the finite-size effects in neutron stars. The finite-size effects should be, generally, taken into account in the phase transition of multi-component system. The behavior of the phase transition, however, strongly depends on the models for quark and hadron matter, surface tension, neutrino fraction, and temperature. We find that, if the surface tension is strong, the EOS becomes similar to the case of a Maxwell construction for any hadron and/or quark model, though we adopt the Gibbs conditions. We also find that the mass-radius relations for that EOS are consistent with the observations, and our model is then applicable to realistic astrophysical phenomena such as the thermal evolution of compact stars.