Physics of neutron stars and giant planets

中子星是极端的天体，质量是地球的30万倍，但大小相当于一个小城市。它们提供了一个独特的实验室，可以在高密度，温度和磁场条件下研究物质：这些条件在陆地实验室中无法实现。同样，现在已知的数百颗围绕附近恒星运行的巨行星为我们提供了一种研究太阳系以外行星形成和演化的方法。该研究计划涉及中子星和巨行星内部发生的物理过程的理论工作，这些工作涉及我们现在对这些物体的许多观测。这项研究将帮助我们了解中子星是由什么组成的，以及巨型行星是如何形成和演化的。

Neutron stars are extreme astrophysical objects, 300,000 times as massive as the Earth and yet the size of a small city. They offer a unique laboratory to study matter under conditions of high density, temperature and magnetic fields: conditions that cannot be achieved in terrestrial laboratories. Similarly, the hundreds of giant planets now known to orbit nearby stars offer us a way to study the formation and evolution of planets beyond those in our own Solar System. This research program involves theoretical work on physical processes occurring inside neutron stars and giant planets which addresses the many observations we now have of these objects. This research will help us learn what neutron stars are made of and how giant planets form and evolve.