Impact of the nuclear equation of state on the formation of twin stars

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the nuclear equation of state influences the formation of twin stars, stable neutron stars with identical masses but different radii, emphasizing the role of symmetry energy parameters.

Contribution

It demonstrates the significant impact of symmetry energy parameters on twin star formation and assesses the effects of nuclear matter EOS uncertainties.

Findings

Symmetry energy slope L and curvature K_sym critically affect twin star formation.

Variations in symmetric nuclear matter EOS have minimal impact on twin stars.

The study highlights the importance of nuclear matter properties in neutron star phenomenology.

Abstract

Twin stars-two stable neutron stars (NSs) with the same mass but different radii have long been proposed to appear as a consequence of a possible first-order phase transition in NS matter. Within a meta-model for the EOS of hybrid stars, we revisit the viability of twin stars and its dependence on numerous parameters characterizing the EOS of nuclear matter, quark matter, and the phase transition between them. While essentially no experimental constraint exists for the last two, parameters characterizing the EOS of neutron-rich nucleonic matter have been constrained within various ranges by terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations. Within these ranges, the impact of nuclear EOS and crust-core transition density on the formation of twin stars is studied. It is found that the symmetry energy of neutron-rich nucleonic matter notably influences the formation of twin stars, particularly through its slope $L$ and curvature $K_{\rm sym}$. Conversely, varying the EOS of symmetric nuclear matter within their currently known uncertainty ranges shows minimal influence on the formation of twin stars.