Physics Graduate Student Seminar with Liam Brodie on The Case of the Superlight Compact Object

What are the phases of matter in environments where the strong interaction is dominant? In my talk, I will focus on the dense and cool part of the phase diagram. These conditions are found in neutron stars, which we can use as laboratories to understand more about the strong interaction. I will be discussing the lightest observed compact object. I say this because we do not know if it is a neutron star or made up of some other type of matter. We will learn the basics about compact stars (why neutron stars are more than just neutrons), how to come up with a model to study their cores, and how to test these models. Once we have these tools, we will investigate if a very light compact object can be described with only neutrons, protons, and electrons, or if another form of matter must be considered.