(Anti)kaon condensation in strongly magnetized dense matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates how strong magnetic fields in neutron stars influence the dense matter composition, particularly delaying kaon condensation and increasing the maximum mass of neutron stars.

Contribution

It introduces a study of dense matter with strange baryons and kaons under strong magnetic fields, highlighting the magnetic field's effect on matter stiffness and neutron star mass.

Findings

Strong magnetic fields delay kaon condensation.

Magnetic fields increase the maximum neutron star mass.

Magnetic fields stiffen dense matter at high densities.

Abstract

Recent observations of several massive pulsars, with masses near and above $2~M_\odot$, point towards the existence of matter at very high densities, compared to normal matter that we are familiar with in our terrestrial world. This leads to the possibility of appearance of exotic degrees of freedom other than nucleons inside the core of the neutrons stars (NS). Another significant property of NSs is the presence of high surface magnetic field, with highest range of the order of $\sim~10^{16}$ G. We study the properties of highly dense matter with the possibility of appearance of heavier strange and non-strange baryons, and kaons in presence of strong magnetic field. We find that the presence of a strong magnetic field stiffens the matter at high density, delaying the kaon appearance and, hence, increasing the maximum attainable mass of NS family.