Physics of neutron stars and giant planets

中子星是极端的天体物理物体，质量是地球的30万倍，却有一个小城市那么大。它们提供了一个独特的实验室，可以在高密度、高温和磁场条件下研究物质，这些条件在地面实验室是无法实现的。同样，目前已知的围绕附近恒星运行的数百颗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。这个研究项目涉及中子星和巨行星内部发生的物理过程的理论工作，它解决了我们现在对这些物体的许多观察。这项研究将帮助我们了解中子星是由什么组成的，以及巨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.