Core-collapse Supernovae, Binary Neutron Star Mergers and the Nuclear Equation of State at High Density
Prof. Grant Mathews
University of Notre Dame
The properties of nuclear matter at extremely high densities and temperatures are still fraught with unknowns. Nevertheless, there are two environments in Nature for which the most dense forms of nuclear matter can be formed; these are during the collapse of the core of a massive star to form a supernova, and during the merger of two neutron stars to form a black hole. This talk will highlight recent progress by our group on exploring equation-of-state mysteries of these two environments. In particular, new insight into what determines the explodability of supernova progenitors and the possibility to probe the non-perturbative regime of quark matter are revealed.