Confronting GW190814 with hyperonization in dense matter and hypernuclear compact stars

TL;DR

This study investigates whether the light object in GW190814 could be a hypernuclear star by modeling dense matter with hyperons, but finds hypernuclear stars are unlikely, supporting a black hole interpretation.

Contribution

The paper introduces a detailed modeling of hypernuclear stars using density functional theory constrained by astrophysical data, assessing their viability in explaining GW190814.

Findings

Hypernuclear stars cannot reach the observed mass of GW190814's companion.

Nucleonic stars are consistent with GW190814, but only if dense matter lacks hyperons.

Hyperonization reduces maximum stellar mass, making hypernuclear stars unlikely in GW190814.

Abstract

We examine the possibility that the light companion in the highly asymmetric binary compact object coalescence event GW190814 is a hypernuclear star. We use density functional theory with functionals that have been tuned to the properties of $\Lambda$ hypernuclei as well as astrophysical constraints placed by the masses of the most massive millisecond pulsars, the mass-radius range inferred from the NICER experiment, and the binary neutron star merger event GW170817. We compute general-relativistic static and maximally rotating Keplerian configurations of purely nucleonic and hypernuclear stars. We find that while nucleonic stars are broadly consistent with a neutron star being involved in GW190814, this would imply no new degrees of freedom in the dense matter up to 6.5 times the nuclear saturation density. Allowing for hyperonization of dense matter, we find that the maximal masses of hypernuclear stars, even for maximal rapidly rotating configurations, are inconsistent with a stellar nature interpretation of the light companion in GW190814, implying that this event involved two black holes rather than a neutron star and a black hole.