Twin stars as probes of the nuclear equation of state: effects of rotation through the PSR J0952-0607 pulsar and constraints via the tidal deformability from the GW170817 event

TL;DR

This paper investigates how phase transitions inside compact stars, especially twin stars, can be constrained by gravitational wave observations and pulsar data, focusing on effects of rotation and recent astrophysical measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of hybrid star configurations with phase transitions, incorporating rotation effects and observational constraints from GW170817 and PSR J0952-0607.

Findings

Twin star configurations are consistent with GW170817 constraints.

Rotation significantly affects the mass-radius relationship of hybrid stars.

The existence of PSR J0952-0607 challenges certain twin star models.

Abstract

In agreement with the constantly increasing gravitational wave events, new aspects of the internal structure of compact stars can be considered. A scenario in which a first order transition takes place inside these stars is of particular interest as it can lead, under conditions, to a third gravitationally stable branch (besides white dwarfs and neutron stars), the twin stars. The new branch yields stars with the same mass as normal compact stars but quite different radii. In the present work, we focus on hybrid stars undergone a hadron to quark phase transition near their core and how this new stable configuration arises. Emphasis is to be given on the aspects of the phase transition and its parametrization in two different ways, namely with Maxwell and Gibbs construction. We systematically study the gravitational mass, the radius, and the tidal deformability, and we compare them with the predictions of the recent observation by LIGO/VIRGO collaboration, the GW170817 event, along with the mass and radius limits, suggesting possible robust constraints. Moreover, we extent the study in order to include rotation effects on the twin stars configurations. The recent discovery of the fast rotating supermassive pulsar PSR J0952-0607 triggered the effort to constrain the equation of state and moreover to examine possible predictions related to the phase transition in dense nuclear matter. We pay special attention to relate the PSR J0952-0607 pulsar properties with the twin stars predictions and mainly to explore the possibility that the existence of such a massive object would rule out the existence of twin stars. Finally, we discuss the constraints on the radius and mass of the recently observed compact object within the supernova remnant HESS J1731-347. The estimations implies that this object is either the lightest neutron star known, or a star with a more exotic equation of state.