The study of nonstrange quark stars within a modified NJL model

TL;DR

This paper employs a modified NJL model with proper-time regularization to analyze nonstrange quark star structures, showing how modifications affect the equation of state and aligning results with recent astrophysical observations.

Contribution

It introduces a modified NJL model with feedback effects in the coupling constant, providing new insights into quark star properties and their observational signatures.

Findings

Smaller G_1 yields a stiffer EOS.

Higher vacuum pressure softens the EOS at low energy density.

Model predictions align with recent mass, radius, and tidal deformability observations.

Abstract

In this work, a modified Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model with proper-time regularization is employed to study the structure of nonstrange quark stars. The coupling constant of four-fermion interaction in the conventional NJL model is modified as $G=G_1+G_2\langle\bar{\psi}\psi\rangle$ to highlight the feedback of quark propagator to gluon propagator. To study the dependence of the equation of state (EOS) on this modification as well as the vacuum pressure, we choose nine representative EOSs for comparison. It is found that a smaller $G_1$ leads to a stiffer EOS, and a higher vacuum pressure (i.e., a smaller bag constant) yields a softer EOS at low energy density. It is further shown that the heaviest quark star under this modified NJL model satisfies not only the recent mass measurement of PSR J0740+6620, but also the radius constraints from X-ray timing observations. The corresponding tidal deformability is also in agreement with the observations of GW170817.