New constraints on the neutron-star mass and radius relation from terrestrial nuclear experiments

TL;DR

This paper combines terrestrial nuclear experiment data with astronomical observations to better constrain the neutron star mass-radius relation, highlighting the importance of nuclear physics experiments in astrophysical modeling.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on the neutron star mass-radius relation by integrating recent nuclear experiment results with astronomical observations.

Findings

Experimental constraints are consistent with astronomical observations.

Terrestrial experiments can significantly refine neutron star EOS models.

Further nuclear experiments are essential for improved neutron star property predictions.

Abstract

The determination of the equation of state (EOS) for nuclear matter has been one of the biggest problems in nuclear astrophysics, because the EOS is essential for determining the properties of neutron stars. To constrain the density-dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy, several nuclear experiments, e.g., reported by the S$\pi$RIT and PREX-II collaborations, have recently been performed. However, since their uncertainties are still large, additional constraints such as astronomical observations must be crucial. In addition, it is interesting to see the effect of their reported value on neutron star properties. In this study, focusing on the relatively lower density region, we investigate the allowed area of the neutron-star mass and radius relation by assuming the constraints from S$\pi$RIT and PREX-II. Each region predicted by these experiments is still consistent with the allowed area constrained by the various astronomical observations. Our results show that terrestrial nuclear experiments must provide further constraints on the EOS for neutron stars, complementing astronomical observations.