Neutron Stars as Probes of Fundamental Physics

物理和致密天体天体物理学中的许多基本问题的答案取决于准确地确定中子星的质量和半径。该项目将为准确测量中子星质量及其状态方程和探测中子星时空奠定理论基础。厄泽尔博士和学生将通过主要的计算计算解决(I)爱丁顿极限与中子星自转和发射辐射的几何形状的关系，(Ii)爆发的弱磁性中子星在以非相干散射为主的高温下的发射光谱，以及(Iii)由旋转中子星的复度规引起的对发射面积和红移线轮廓的修正。通过直接将理论工作与快速旋转、高度相对论和吸积型中子星的X射线观测进行比较，这项研究将回答致密天体天体物理、引力物理和量子色动力学中的几个突出问题。要解决的主要问题包括：补充早期宇宙研究的量子色动力学相图区域中的物质状态，以及通过建立质量-自旋关联来评估吸积中子星作为重力波源。通过这项工作，亚利桑那大学的研究生将接受天体物理和引力物理的理论和计算工作方面的培训。厄泽尔博士将把这项工作的成果纳入她扩大的公众宣传活动，通过公共电视节目、媒体采访和公开演讲普及中子星和黑洞。

The answers to numerous fundamental problems in physics and compact object astrophysics depends on accurately determining the masses and radii of neutron stars. This project will lay the theoretical foundations for accurately measuring neutron star masses, as well as their equations of state and for probing neutron star spacetimes. Dr. Ozel and students will address through major computational calculations (i) the dependence of the Eddington limit on the neutron star spin and the geometry of the emitted radiation, (ii) the emission spectra of bursting, weakly magnetic neutron stars at high temperatures where non-coherent scattering is dominant, and (iii) the corrections to the emitting area and to redshifted line profiles arising from the complex metric of rotating neutron stars. By directly comparing the theoretical work to X-ray observations of rapidly-rotating, highly relativistic and accreting neutron stars, this research will answer several outstanding questions in compact object astrophysics, gravitational physics, and quantum chromodynamics. Major questions to be addressed include the state of matter in regions of the quantum chromodynamic phase diagram that complement the early universe studies and an assessment of accreting neutron stars as gravity wave sources by establishing mass-spin correlations. Through this work, graduate students at the University of Arizona will be trained in theoretical and computational work in astrophysics and gravitational physics. Dr. Ozel will include the results of this work in her expanding public outreach efforts which popularize neutron stars and black holes through public television programs, press interviews, and public talks.