arXiv subjects

Bikram Keshari Pradhan

Publications and source records attributed to Bikram Keshari Pradhan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

NJL-Chiral Soliton and the Nucleon Equation of State at supra-saturation density: Impact of Chiral Symmetry Restoration

It has been conjectured that, at sufficiently high baryon densities, the equation of state (EoS) of bulk nuclear matter can be identified with that of the nucleon core. In this work, we illustrate how the energy density and pressure distributions inside individual nucleons can be utilized to construct the EoS of supra-dense matter. In our framework, nucleons arise as topological solitons stabilized by vector mesons, which are dynamically generated through the path integral bosonization of an underlying Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. The restoration of chiral symmetry is implemented dynamically via a self-consistent, density-dependent scalar field, which modifies the (isovector) and (isoscalar) channels of the soliton. We analyze the resulting changes in soliton properties for different NJL parameter sets and demonstrate that the progressive restoration of chiral symmetry leads to a stiffening of the soliton-based EoS, making it compatible with existing neutron star EoSs. An EoS constructed from the solutions of the energy-density and pressure profiles at the center of the nucleon is also explored.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

Relativistic Mean Field Approach with Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Quark Confinement in the light of Astrophysical Observations

We perform a Bayesian analysis of a relativistic mean-field approach, which is an implementation of the chiral confining model with both chiral symmetry breaking and confinement effects, and which was recently proven to reproduce well the ground state properties of finite nuclei. We additionally explore the impact of couplings between $ρ$ and $ω$ mesons as well as a non-linear $ω$ coupling. Our models are simultaneously constrained by nuclear matter properties near saturation density, multi-messenger neutron star astrophysical observations, and/or lattice QCD predictions of the nucleon mass. It exhibits tension in simultaneously reproducing the $\sim 2M_{\odot}$ massive NS and the tidal deformability inferred from GW170817. We show that an additional $ωρ$ coupling, favored by Bayes factor analysis, substantially alleviates this tension, while adding a non-linear $ω$ self-interaction is not necessary for the RMF-CC model. Owing to the strong constraints on the scalar sector imposed by chiral dynamics and the softening of the equation of state at high densities induced by our treatment of confinement, the RMF-CC approach favors stiff equations of state. Since we do not consider phase transition in the core of neutron stars, this stiffening is obtained with large values of the incompressibility modulus of about $\sim300$ MeV. We finally compare the well-known RMF model with RMF-CC models with the same constraints, and we obtain a preference for the RMF model in the absence of a phase transition in the core of neutron stars.

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arXiv2026

Mechanical properties of the nucleon in the chiral confining model. I -- formal developments

We discuss the issue of the mechanical stability of the nucleon within a class of models in which massive constituent quarks are subject to a confining potential and are coupled to a surrounding pion cloud enveloping the quark core. The nucleon trial states (either localized factorized wave functions or momentum-projected states) are determined by imposing the von Laue stability condition. This article is primarily devoted to the formal aspects related to the detailed expressions for the total energy (mass), the average pressure, the energy density and the pressure distribution inside the nucleon. It will be accompanied by a complementary article addressing the evolution of nucleon properties with density, associated with the restoration of chiral symmetry.

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arXiv2026

Mechanical properties of the nucleon in the chiral confining model. II -- in-medium evolution of the nucleon properties

This article is devoted to the study of the evolution of the properties of nucleons bound in nuclear matter within the framework of the chiral confining model. The in-medium nucleon trial states (either localized factorized wave functions or momentum-projected states) are determined by imposing the von Laue stability condition, according to the formal results established in a preliminary companion paper (labeled as I). The main results concern the response of the composite nucleon to the scalar field, as well as the respective roles of confinement and chiral symmetry breaking in the evolution of the in-medium nucleon mass. This evolution governs the repulsive three-body forces required for the nuclear saturation mechanism. We also analyze the modification of the energy density distribution and the pressure distribution inside the in-medium nucleon. We also draw some perspectives concerning the mapping between bound nucleon properties and the equation of state of dense matter as realized in the deep interior of neutron stars.

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arXiv2026

Fundamental oscillations as a tool to distinguish boson stars from neutron stars and black holes

Massive boson stars are self-gravitating configurations of self-interacting scalar fields and can be modeled by a massive scalar field with a quartic self-interaction potential. It has been shown that the equation of state and static structure properties, such as mass and radius, follow scaling relations independent of microscopic dark matter properties. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that non-radial fundamental ($f$-)mode characteristics also follow a scaling in the strong interaction limit, opening up the outstanding prospect of evaluating the mode properties for boson stars for arbitrary masses spanning the scalar dark matter parameter space allowed by current observations. We provide the scaling relations within full general relativity and obtain the mode characteristics corresponding to the maximum boson star mass configuration. We apply these to determine the $f$-mode properties for boson stars solely as a function of their mass and compactness, which allows distinguishing them from those of neutron stars and black hole quasinormal modes in comparable mass range. In particular, we show that the frequencies are always lower than those of corresponding black holes of the same mass by a factor of 4.5. This provides a smoking gun for the distinguishability of boson stars from other compact objects using gravitational wave observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Detectability of Massive Boson Stars using Gravitational Waves from Fundamental Oscillations

Boson Stars are macroscopic self-gravitating configurations made of complex scalar fields. These exotic compact objects would manifest as dark Boson stars and, in the absence of electromagnetic signatures, could mimic properties of compact stars in the gravitational wave spectrum. In a recent study, using the simplest potential for massive Boson stars, we demonstrated that fundamental non-radial oscillations ($f$-modes) obey scaling relations that allow them to be distinguished from neutron stars and black holes. In this work, we provide analytical fits for these scaling relations, valid for the dark matter parameter space compatible with current astrophysical and cosmological data, that can be directly incorporated into future studies of massive Boson stars in the strong coupling regime, avoiding the need for numerical calculations. We also provide analytical fits for empirical and universal relations for gravitational wave asteroseismology, which can be used to infer microscopic dark matter properties following a successful detection. Further, we investigate the possibility of detection of $f$-modes and the dark matter parameter space that can be probed with current and future gravitational wave detectors across multiple frequency bands. Assuming a burst gravitational wave model and demanding a signal-to-noise ratio of 5, we show that the current and future detectors can, in principle, probe Boson star $f$-modes up to cosmological distances: 1 Mpc with aLIGO, 30 Mpc with Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope, and in the best case scenario, about 300 Mpc with LISA.

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arXiv2025

Tidal heating in binary inspiral of strange quark stars

We investigate tidal heating associated with the binary inspiral of strange quark stars and its impact on the resulting gravitational wave signal. Tidal heating during the merger of neutron stars composed of nuclear matter may be considered negligible, but it has been demonstrated recently that the presence of hyperons at high densities could significantly enhance the dissipation during inspiral. In this work, we evaluate the bulk viscosity arising from non-leptonic weak processes involving quarks and show that it can be several orders of magnitude higher than the viscosity of nuclear matter at temperatures relevant to the inspiral phase of the merger of strange stars. We model strange quark matter in the normal phase using a non-ideal bag model including electrons and ensure compatibility with astrophysical constraints. By analysing equal-mass binary systems with component masses ranging from 1.4 to 1.8 $\, M_{\odot}$, we find that temperatures close to 0.1 MeV are reached by the end of the inspiral phase. We also estimate the effect on the gravitational waveform and conclude that the additional phase shift could range from $0.1$ to $0.5$ radians for strange quark masses of 200 MeV, making it potentially detectable by next-generation gravitational wave detectors. Given that tidal heating from hyperons is dominant only for very massive neutron stars having masses 1.8 to 2.0 $\, M_{\odot}$, a successful detection of this phase shift during the inspiral of binary systems with relatively low masses of 1.4 to 1.6 $\, M_{\odot}$ could be a smoking gun signature for the existence of strange quark stars.

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arXiv2025

Investigating the role of nuclear parameters on oscillation modes in hot Neutron Stars

Recent studies have revealed that certain nuclear parameters are more dominant than others in governing global neutron star properties, such as its structure or oscillation mode characteristics. Although neutron stars can in general assumed to be cold, in astrophysical scenarios such as newly born neutron stars or remnants of binary neutron star mergers, finite temperature effects play a non-negligible role. In this work, we perform a consistent and systematic investigation of the role of nuclear parameters and thermal effects on neutron star properties and fluid oscillation modes within a full general relativistic scheme. We impose constraints on the parameter space of the relativistic mean field model using state-of-the-art information from terrestrial experiments and multi-messenger astrophysical data. We find effective nucleon mass to be the most important nuclear parameter controlling astrophysical observables of hot neutron stars, similar to the cold beta equilibrated matter. However, we conclude that the interplay among saturation properties and astrophysical observables depends not only on the thermal configurations considered but also on the constraints imposed. We also investigated the role of nuclear saturation parameters on some universal relations for hot NSs which are important in gravitational wave asteroseismology. Our investigation confirmed that these relations are mostly insensitive to nuclear saturation properties and mainly affected by variation of charge fraction in the star.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Effects of Dark Matter on $f$-mode oscillations of Neutron Stars

The effect of dark matter (DM) on $f$-mode oscillations in DM admixed neutron stars (NSs) is investigated in a comprehensive analysis with particular attention to the role of the nuclear equation of state. Hadronic matter is modeled by the relativistic mean field model and the DM model is based on the neutron decay anomaly. The non-radial $f$-mode oscillations for such DM admixed NS are studied in a full general relativistic framework. We investigate the impact of DM, DM self-interaction, and DM fraction on the $f$-mode characteristics. We derive relations encoding the effect of DM on $f$-mode parameters. We then perform a systematic study by varying all the model parameters within their known uncertainty range and obtain a universal relation for the DM fraction based on the total mass of the star and DM self-interaction strength. We also perform a correlation study among model parameters, NS observables, in particular, $f$-mode parameters. Finally, we check the $f$-mode universal relations (URs) for the case of DM admixed NSs and demonstrate the existence of a degeneracy between purely hadronic NSs and DM admixed NSs.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Probing hadron-quark phase transition in twin stars using $f$-modes

Although it is conjectured that a phase transition from hadronic to deconfined quark matter in the ultrahigh-density environment of Neutron Stars (NS), the nature of phase transition remains an unresolved mystery. Furthermore, recent efforts reveal that the finite surface tension effects can lead to a mixed phase with different geometric shapes (so-called "pasta" phases), leading to a smooth phase transition from hadronic to quark matter in the NS interior. Depending on whether there is a strong or a pasta-induced smooth first-order phase transition, one may expect a third family of stable, compact stars or "twin stars" to appear, with the same mass but different radii compared to NSs. The possibility of identifying twin stars using astrophysical observations has been a subject of interest. This study investigates the potential of probing the nature of the hadron-quark phase transition through future gravitational wave (GW) detections from fundamental ($f$-) mode oscillations in Neutron Stars. Using a newly developed model that parametrizes the hadron-quark phase transition with ``pasta phases," we calculate $f$-mode characteristics within a full general relativistic framework. We then use Universal Relations in GW asteroseismology to derive stellar properties from the detected mode parameters. Our findings suggest that detecting GWs from $f$-modes with third-generation GW detectors offers a promising scenario for the existence of twin stars. However, we also estimate various uncertainties in determining the mode parameters and conclude that these uncertainties make it more challenging to identify the nature of the hadron-quark phase transition.

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arXiv2024

Tidal heating as a direct probe of strangeness inside neutron stars

It has been discussed whether viscous processes in neutron star matter during a binary inspiral can damp out the tidal energy induced by the companion and heat up the star. Earlier investigations concluded that this tidal heating is negligible for normal neutron star matter. In this work, we suggest a novel effect of tidal heating involving strange matter in the neutron star interior, that can significantly heat up the star, and is potentially observable by current and future gravitational wave detectors. We propose that this could serve as a direct probe of strangeness in neutron stars.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Cost of inferred nuclear parameters towards the f-mode dynamical tide in binary neutron stars

Gravitational Wave (GW) observations from Neutron Stars (NS) in a binary system provide an excellent scenario to constrain the nuclear parameters. The investigation of Pratten et al. (2022) has shown that the ignorance of f-mode dynamical tidal correction in the GW waveform model of the binary neutron star (BNS) system can lead to substantial bias in the measurement of NS properties and NS equations of state (EOS). In this work, we investigate the bias in the nuclear parameters resulting from the ignorance of dynamical tidal correction. In addition, this work demonstrates the sensitivity of the nuclear parameters and the estimated constraints on them from future GW observations. We infer the nuclear parameters from GW observations by describing the NS matter within the relativistic mean field model. For a population of GW events, we notice that the ignorance of dynamical tide predicts a lower median for nucleon effective mass ($m^*$) by $\sim6\%$ compared to the scenario when dynamical tidal correction is considered. Whereas at a 90\% credible interval(CI), $m^*$ gets constrained up to $\sim 5\%$ and $\sim 3\%$ in A+ (the LIGO-Virgo detectors with a sensitivity of 5th observing run) and Cosmic Explorer (CE) respectively. We also discuss the resulting constraints on all other nuclear parameters, including compressibility, symmetry energy, and slope of symmetry energy, considering an ensemble of GW events. We do not notice any significant impact in analyzing nuclear parameters other than $m^*$ due to the ignorance of f-mode dynamical tides.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Multi-physics constraints at different densities to probe nuclear symmetry energy in hyperonic neutron stars

The appearance of strangeness in the form of hyperons within the inner core of neutron stars is expected to affect its detectable properties such as its global structure or gravitational wave emission. In this work, we explore the parameter space of hyperonic stars within the framework of the Relativistic Mean Field model allowed by present uncertainties in state-of-the-art nuclear and hypernuclear experimental data. We impose multi-physics constraints at different density regimes to restrict the parameter space: Chiral effective field theory, heavy-ion collision data as well as multi-messenger astrophysical observations of neutron stars. We investigate possible correlations between empirical nuclear and hypernuclear parameters, particularly the symmetry energy and its slope, with observable properties of neutron stars. We do not find a correlation for the hyperon parameters and the astrophysical data. However, the inclusion of hyperons generates a tension between the astrophysical and heavy ion data constraining considerable the available parameter space.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Role of vector self-interaction in Neutron Star properties

Previous studies have claimed that there exist correlations among certain nuclear saturation parameters and neutron star observables, such as the slope of the symmetry energy and the radius of a $1.4M_{\odot}$ neutron star. However, it is not clear whether such correlations are physical or spurious, as they are not observed universally for all equation of state models. In this work, we probe the role of vector self-interaction within the framework of the Relativistic Mean Field model and its role in governing the observable stellar properties and their correlations with nuclear parameters. We confirm that the effect of this term is not only to control the high density properties of the equation of state but also to govern such correlations. We also impose a limit on the maximum strength of the vector self-interaction using recent astrophysical data.

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arXiv2023

Prospects of identifying the presence of Strange Stars using Gravitational Waves from binary systems

The existence of self-bound strange stars is a long-standing mystery in astrophysics. Future astrophysical data, even with improved precision, may not allow us to discriminate them from neutron stars, given the uncertainties in observational and theoretical modeling. In this work, we propose a unique strategy to distinguish strange stars from neutron stars using gravitational waves from binary compact star systems. We demonstrate that empirical relations connecting f-mode frequencies with tidal deformation are distinct for the two classes of compact objects, irrespective of their equations of state. Therefore simultaneous measurement of f-mode frequency and tidal deformability from the inspiral phase of compact binary mergers with the next-generation detectors can provide smoking gun evidence for the presence of strange stars. This would have crucial implications not only in gravitational wave physics but multidisciplinary fields such as nuclear and high energy physics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Constraining nuclear parameters using Gravitational waves from f-mode Oscillations in Neutron Stars

Gravitational waves (GW) emanating from unstable quasi-normal modes in Neutron Stars (NS) could be accessible with the improved sensitivity of the current GW detectors or with the next-generation GW detectors and, therefore, can be employed to study the NS interior. Assuming f-mode excitation in isolated pulsars with typical energy of pulsar glitches and considering potential f-mode GW candidates for A+ (upgraded LIGO detectors operating at 5th observation run design sensitivity) and Einstein Telescope (ET), we demonstrate the inverse problem of NS asteroseismology within a Bayesian formalism to constrain the nuclear parameters and NS Equation of State (EOS). We describe the NS interior within relativistic mean field formalism. Taking the example of glitching pulsars, we find that for a single event in A+ and ET, among the nuclear parameters, the nucleon effective mass ($m^*$) within 90\% credible interval (CI) can be restricted within $10\%$ and $5\%$, respectively. At the same time, the incompressibility ($K$) and the slope of the symmetry energy ($L$) are only loosely constrained. Considering multiple (10) events in A+ and ET, all the nuclear parameters are well constrained, especially $m^*$, which can be constrained to 3\% and 2\% in A+ and ET, respectively. Uncertainty in the observables of a $1.4M_{\odot}$ NS such as radius ($R_{1.4M_{\odot}}$), f-mode frequency ($f_{1.4M_{\odot}}$), damping time ($τ_{1.4M_{\odot}}$) and a few EOS properties including squared speed of sound ($c_s^2$) are also estimated.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Impact of updated Multipole Love numbers and f-Love Universal Relations in the context of Binary Neutron Stars

Neutron star (NS) equation of state (EoS) insensitive relations or universal relations (UR) involving neutron star bulk properties play a crucial role in gravitational-wave astronomy. Considering a wide range of equations of state originating from (i) phenomenological relativistic mean field models, (ii) realistic EoS models based on different physical motivations, and (iii) polytropic EoSs described by spectral decomposition method, we update the EoS-insensitive relations involving NS tidal deformability (Multipole Love relation) and the UR between f-mode frequency and tidal deformability (f-Love relation). We analyze the binary neutron star (BNS) event GW170817 using the frequency domain TaylorF2 waveform model with updated universal relations and find that the additional contribution of the octupolar electric tidal parameter and quadrupolar magnetic tidal parameter or the change of multipole Love relation has no significant impact on the inferred NS properties. However, adding the f-mode dynamical phase lowers the 90% upper bound on $\tildeΛ$ by 16-20% as well as lowers the upper bound of NSs radii by $\sim$500m. The combined URs (multipole Love and f-Love) developed in this work predict a higher median (also a higher 90% upper bound) for $\tildeΛ$ by 6% and also predict higher radii for the binary components of GW170817 by 200-300m compared to the URs used previously in the literature. We further perform injection and recovery studies on simulated events with different EoSs in $\rm A+$ detector configuration as well as with third generation (3G) Einstein telescope. In agreement with the literature, we find that neglecting f-mode dynamical tides can significantly bias the inferred NS properties, especially for low mass NSs. However, we also find that the impact of the URs is within statistical errors.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

General relativistic treatment of $f$-mode oscillations of hyperonic stars

We present a systematic study of $f$-mode oscillations in neutron stars containing hyperons, extending recent results obtained within the Cowling approximation to linearized General Relativity. Employing a relativistic mean field model, we find that the Cowling approximation can overestimate the quadrupolar $f$-mode frequency of neutron stars by up to 30\% compared to the frequency obtained in the linearized general relativistic formalism. Imposing current astrophysical constraints, we derive updated empirical relations for gravitational wave asteroseismology. The frequency and damping time of quadrupole $f$-mode oscillations of hyperonic stars are found to be in the range of 1.47 - 2.45kHz and 0.13 - 0.51 sec respectively. Our correlation studies demonstrate that among the various parameters of the nucleonic and hyperonic sectors of the model, the nucleon effective mass shows the strongest correlation with mode characteristics and neutron star observables. Estimates for the detectability of $f$-modes in a transient burst of gravitational waves from isolated hyperonic stars is also provided.

astro-ph.HE↗