arXiv subjects

Adrian Wojcik

Publications and source records attributed to Adrian Wojcik.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hybrid stars among mass gap objects are excluded by twin stars at $1.4\,M_\odot$

We investigate the question whether compact objects in the so called mass gap ($2.5 < M/M_\odot < 5.0$) can be neutron stars or hybrid stars. Using a generic hybrid star equation of state with a first-order deconfinement transition, we map the allowed parameter space in a Seidov-type diagram and confront it with modern mass--radius constraints. We find that mass-gap hybrid stars require an extremely early onset of deconfinement and very stiff quark matter. The Bayesian analysis, however, favors equations of state with deconfinement at typical neutron-star masses around $1.4\,M_\odot$ with mass-twin stars that, if confirmed, would rule out hybrid stars as candidates for observed mass-gap compact objects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Revisiting the Rhoades-Ruffini bound

We revisit the derivation of the Rhoades-Ruffini bound on the upper limit for the maximum mass of neutron stars and find that the assumption made there for the onset of an ultimately stiff phase of high-density matter is not stringent. Relaxing this assumption and allowing for an onset of stiff non-nucleonic matter under neutron star constraints at the saturation density or below boost the upper limit of the theoretically possible maximum mass to $4~M_\odot$ or higher, in the mass-gap region between neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes. We provide a fit formula for the dependence of this upper limit on the speed of sound and the onset density of the deconfinement transition.

nucl-th↗