Lower limit on radius as a function of mass for neutron stars.
A model-independent limit on neutron star radius as a function of mass based only on well-accepted principles is derived. We discuss our limit in connection with a recent interpretation of x-ray pulsations from SAX J1808.4-3658 as indicating a strange-star candidate, and show that this object can also be a normal neutron star, though one whose central core has very high density. The most plausible high-density phase of hadronic matter, which is also expected to be very compressible, is quark matter. So an alternative to the strange star interpretation of SAX J1808.4-3658 is that it is a hybrid neutron star.
Glendenning
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Nuclear Science Division and Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
D055580:Astronomical Phenomena; D001256:Astronomy; D009502:Neutrons; D010825:Physics / Q000379:methods*; D014894:Weights and Measures