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Luca Passarella

Publications and source records attributed to Luca Passarella.

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Is the coexistence of strange quark stars and hadronic stars favored by astrophysical data? A Bayesian analysis

Hadronic stars and strange quark stars could coexist within the so-called two-families scenario. In this respect, hadronic matter and strange quark matter correspond to two distinct equilibrium phases described by two different equations of state. We perform here the first detailed Bayesian analysis that makes use of astrophysical and laboratory data in order to constrain the equations of state adopted within the two-families scenario for hadronic and strange quark matter. In particular, in hadronic matter we consider the possible formation of hyperons and delta resonances (beside nucleons) within a class of non linear relativistic mean field models and in quark matter we consider the possible formation of a color-superconducting phase within a bag-like model. Results of the analysis indicate that while at the moment both the one-family and the two-families scenarios are compatible with the data, by comparing the Bayes factors of both models, the two-families scenario is favored with respect to the one-family scenario. Specifically, the two-families framework naturally relieves the tension between the intermediate-density softness of the equation of state required by small-radius objects and the high-density stiffness needed to support massive pulsars. Ultimately, future detections of even more massive compact objects, very compact ordinary-mass objects, or precise measurements of two distinct masses with the same radius, will provide strong indications in favor of the two-families scenario.

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Relativistic mean-field predictions for dense matter equation of state and application to neutron stars

Relativistic mean-field models (RMF) based on the exchange of $\sigma$, $\omega$, and $\rho$ mesons including non-linear nucleon-$\sigma$ couplings and density-dependent $\rho$ coupling, are considered. A large set of models is generated using the Markov chain Monte Carlo approach and Bayesian statistics to reproduce nuclear physics knowledge encoded in terms of the nuclear empirical parameters and $\chi$EFT predictions for low-density neutron matter. These models are filtered, in a second step, using astrophysical constraints: the tidal deformability obtained from GW170817 parameter estimation and the observational masses deduced from radio-astronomy. We then obtain a set of selected RMF models that are compatible with present nuclear and astrophysical constraints and that can be employed to make predictions and to quantity their uncertainties. Predictions for masses and radii are compared to NICER masses-radii analyses for PSR J0030+0451 and PSR J0740+6620. We find that RMF models can be made soft enough to predict low values for neutron star radii compatible with GW170817 and, at larger densities, stiff enough to be compatible with NICER analyses for massive neutron stars. Our models can also reach large values for the maximum mass, up to 2.6$M_\odot$. In addition, for the core composition, we obtain a large distribution of the proton fraction for canonical mass neutron stars, some of them allowing the direct URCA fast cooling process. For massive neutron stars, however, most of our models suggest a large proton fraction in the core allowing direct URCA fast cooling process.

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