Neutron Stars as Probes for the Structure of Compressed Baryonic Matter

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助。中子星是宇宙中存在的最神秘的天体之一。它们和我们的太阳一样大，但大小大约是太阳的一千万亿倍。因此，中子星核心中的物质被压缩到比原子核的密度大几倍的密度。这一特点，再加上观测天文学的前所未有的进步，使中子星成为进行各种有趣的物理研究的一流天体物理实验室。几项这样的研究是NSF项目的主题。这些研究包括：(1)研究中子星的晶格核之间的核聚变过程和中子星壳层中物质的新状态；(2)研究具有比地球磁场强数万亿倍的磁场的中子星的热演化。这些研究的结果对于获得对新的天体物理仪器所作投资的全部物理潜力至关重要，例如平方公里阵列(SKA)和国际X射线天文台(IXO，前身为星座X)，这些仪器有望发现数万颗中子星。此外，他们还为超稠密但冷核物质的物理提供了最有价值的见解，这是在相对论对撞机实验中无法研究的。圣地亚哥地区的初中和高中的学生将以公开讲座和多媒体演示的形式受益于这项研究，这将由研究人员和执行该项目的学生开发。此外，圣地亚哥州立大学的学生将有机会学习先进的量子力学和爱因斯坦的广义相对论，并将其应用于尖端研究项目，这将丰富他们的教育经验，而不是他们在课堂上学到的东西。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Neutron stars are among the most enigmatic objects that exist in the Universe. They are as massive as our Sun but are around one thousand trillion times smaller in size. The matter in the cores of neutron stars is therefore compressed to densities that are several times greater than the densities of atomic nuclei. This feature, combined with the unprecedented progress in observational astronomy, makes neutron stars superb astrophysical laboratories for a broad range of intriguing physical studies. Several such studies are the subject of this NSF project. These range from (1) investigations of nuclear fusion processes among lattice nuclei and novel states of matter in the crustal layers of neutron stars to (2) thermal evolution studies of neutron stars possessing magnetic fields that are trillions of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. The results of these studies are crucial in order to obtain the full physics potential of the investments that are made in new astrophysical instruments such as the square kilometer Array (skA) and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO, formerly Constellation X), which promise the discovery of tens of thousands of neutron stars. In addition, they provide most valuable insight into the physics of superdense but cold nuclear matter, which can not be studied in relativistic collider experiments.Students from middle and high schools in the San Diego area will profit from this research in the form of public lectures and multimedia presentations, which will be developed by the researches and students carrying out this project. Moreover, students at San Diego State University will get a chance to learn, and apply, advanced quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of general relativity to cutting-edge research projects, which enriches their educational experience beyond what they learn in the classroom.