# Role of the Symmetry Energy on the Structure of Neutron Stars with Unified Equations of State

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how the symmetry energy influences neutron star structure using unified equations of state derived from nuclear energy-density functional theory, comparing predictions with astrophysical observations including gravitational wave data.

## Contribution

It introduces a set of unified equations of state based on four different functionals to study neutron star structure considering symmetry energy effects.

## Key findings

- Predictions align with astrophysical constraints.
- Different functionals yield consistent neutron star properties.
- Analysis includes recent gravitational wave observations.

## Abstract

The role of the symmetry energy on the internal constitution and the global structure of a cold nonaccreted neutron star is studied using a set of unified equations of state. Based on the nuclear energy-density functional theory, these equations of state provide a thermodynamically consistent treatment of all regions of the star and were calculated using the four different Brussels-Montreal functionals BSk22, BSk24, BSk25 and BSk26. Our predictions are compared to various constraints inferred from astrophysical observations including the recent detection of the gravitational wave signal GW170817 from a binary neutron-star merger.