arXiv subjects

Oleg Komoltsev

Publications and source records attributed to Oleg Komoltsev.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

As above, so below: assessing extremeness of the neutron-star equation of state based on the unstable branch

Microscopic models of neutron-star matter have been widely used in astrophysical applications. The focus of attention has been on densities up to the maximal densities reached in stable neutron stars. The possibility that the underlying model assumptions may have important implications at higher densities has not been addressed. Here, we show that the behaviour at higher densities is strongly constrained by requiring a causal, stable, and thermodynamically consistent extension to the perturbative-QCD regime. We explicitly reveal what that behaviour must be and provide a tool for constructing and visualizing such extensions. We find that purely hadronic models trusted up to the maximal central density often require radically different behaviour at higher densities from that assumed in the original model, while models with additional degrees of freedom fare better. Our analysis disfavors purely nucleonic models for describing all stable neutron stars and supports the appearance of some type of additional degrees of freedom in stable massive neutron stars.

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arXiv2026

Constrained Gaussian-process bridge prior for neutron-star equation-of-state inference

We set forth a new method for generating model-agnostic, nonparametric priors for neutron star equation-of-state inference that are stable, causal and thermodynamically consistent by construction. This generalizes Gaussian processes to include global thermodynamic constraints, specifically allowing the inclusion of any number of training points in the form $(μ, n, p)$ while retaining thermodynamic consistency between them. The method is based on constructing constrained Gaussian-process bridges, whose correlation properties can be tuned at will allowing flexibility between a conservative prior and a theory-informed prior. The method does not require any shooting to obey multiple constraints and provides an efficient and informed way to include both chiral effective field theory and perturbative quantum chromodynamics constraints within the same framework.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Perturbative QCD reveals the softening of matter in the cores of massive neutron stars

The cores of neutron stars (NSs) contain the densest matter in the universe. Rapid advancements in neutron-star observations allow unprecedented empirical access to cold, ultra-dense Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) matter. The combination of these observations with theoretical calculations has revealed previously inaccessible features of the equation of state (EoS) and the QCD phase diagram. In this thesis, I demonstrate how perturbative-QCD calculations at asymptotically high baryon densities provide robust constraints on the EoS at neutron-star densities. The method for constraint propagation is based solely on thermodynamical causality, stability, and consistency of the EoS. By constructing a large ensemble of EoSs using Gaussian processes regression and incorporating it into a Bayesian inference of EoS, I demonstrate that the novel pQCD constraints go beyond those obtained from current astrophysical observations alone, forcing the EoS to soften at the maximum densities of stable neutron stars. This softening of the EoS can be interpreted as an indication of approximate conformal symmetry restoration, a sign of a first-order phase transition (FOPT), or potentially both. I show that the conformal symmetry restoration is consistent with the hypothesis of quark matter cores inside the most massive NSs. Although current astrophysical data and theoretical inputs cannot definitively distinguish between the two scenarios, they slightly favor the occurrence of a phase transition of some kind - whether a crossover to quark matter or a destabilizing FOPT - in the cores of the most massive neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

First-order phase transitions in the cores of neutron stars

I explore various scenarios for the phase transition within neutron-star matter. I do so by generating large model-agnostic ensemble using Gaussian processes, both with and without explicit inclusion of first-order phase transitions (FOPTs). The ensemble is conditioned with state-of-the-art astrophysical and theoretical inputs in a fully Bayesian approach. I study how the current data affect the posterior probability of the location and the strength of FOPT. I find that the previously observed peak structure of the sound speed remains stable against inclusion of FOPTs. While the current data cannot differentiate between a smooth crossover and a first-order phase transition, 91% of the total evidence consists of equations of state with some form of phase changes, such as FOPT occurring within or terminating the stable branch of neutron stars, or an indication of a crossover to quark matter.

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arXiv2025

From existing and new nuclear and astrophysical constraints to stringent limits on the equation of state of neutron-rich dense matter

Through continuous progress in nuclear theory and experiment and an increasing number of neutron-star observations, a multitude of information about the equation of state (EOS) for matter at extreme densities is available. To constrain the EOS across its entire density range, this information needs to be combined consistently. However, the impact and model-dependency of individual observations vary. We present a broad compendium of different constraints and apply them individually to a large set of EOS candidates within a Bayesian framework. Specifically, we explore different ways how chiral effective field theory and perturbative quantum chromodynamics can be used to place a likelihood on EOS candidates. We also investigate the impact of nuclear experimental constraints, as well as different radio and X-ray observations of neutron star (NS) masses and radii. This is augmented by reanalyses of the existing data from BNS coalescences, in particular of GW170817, with improved models for the tidal waveform and kilonova light curves, which we also utilize to construct a tight upper limit of 2.39$\,$M$_\odot$ on the TOV mass based on GW170817's remnant. Our diverse set of constraints is eventually combined to obtain stringent limits on NS properties. We organize the combination in a way to distinguish between constraints where the systematic uncertainties are deemed small and those that rely on less conservative assumptions. For the former, we find the radius of the canonical 1.4$\,$M$_\odot$ neutron star to be $R_{1.4}= 12.26_{-0.91}^{+0.80}\,$km and the TOV mass at $M_{\rm TOV}= 2.25_{-0.22}^{+0.42}\,$M$_\odot$ (95% credibility). Including all the presented constraints yields $R_{1.4}= 12.20_{-0.48}^{+0.50}\,$km and $M_{\rm TOV}= 2.30_{-0.20}^{+0.07}\,$M$_\odot$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Equation of state at neutron-star densities and beyond from perturbative QCD

We explore the consequences of imposing robust thermodynamic constraints arising from perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) when inferring the dense-matter equation-of-state (EOS). We find that the termination density, up to which the EOS modeling is performed in an inference setup, strongly affects the constraining power of the QCD input. This sensitivity in the constraining power arises from EOSs that have a specific form, with drastic softening immediately above the termination density followed by a strong stiffening. We also perform explicit modeling of the EOS down from perturbative-QCD densities to construct a new QCD likelihood function that incorporates additional perturbative-QCD calculations of the sound speed and is insensitive to the termination density, which we make publicly available.

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arXiv2024

Strongly interacting matter exhibits deconfined behavior in massive neutron stars

Neutron-star cores contain matter at the highest densities in our Universe. This highly compressed matter may undergo a phase transition where nuclear matter melts into deconfined quark matter, liberating its constituent quarks and gluons. Quark matter exhibits an approximate conformal symmetry, predicting a specific form for its equation of state (EoS), but it is currently unknown whether the transition takes place inside at least some physical neutron stars. Here, we quantify this likelihood by combining information from astrophysical observations and theoretical calculations. Using Bayesian inference, we demonstrate that in the cores of maximally massive stars, the EoS is consistent with quark matter. We do this by establishing approximate conformal symmetry restoration with high credence at the highest densities probed and demonstrating that the number of active degrees of freedom is consistent with deconfined matter. The remaining likelihood is observed to correspond to EoSs exhibiting phase-transition-like behavior, treated as arbitrarily rapid crossovers in our framework.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Bayesian uncertainty quantification of perturbative QCD input to the neutron-star equation of state

The equation of state of neutron-star cores can be constrained by requiring a consistent connection to the perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) calculations at high densities. The constraining power of the QCD input depends on uncertainties from missing higher-order terms, the choice of the unphysical renormalization scale, and the reference density where QCD calculations are performed. Within a Bayesian approach, we discuss the convergence of the perturbative QCD series, quantify its uncertainties at high densities, and present a framework to systematically propagate the uncertainties down to neutron-star densities. We find that the effect of the QCD input on the neutron-star inference is insensitive to the various unphysical choices made in the uncertainty estimation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Ab-initio QCD calculations impact the inference of the neutron-star-matter equation of state

We demonstrate that ab-initio calculations in QCD at high densities offer significant and nontrivial information about the equation of state of matter in the cores of neutron stars, going beyond that which is obtainable from current astrophysical observations. We do so by extrapolating the equation of state to neutron-star densities using a Gaussian process and conditioning it sequentially with astrophysical observations and QCD input. Using our recent work, imposing the latter does not require an extrapolation to asymptotically high density. We find the QCD input to be complementary to the astrophysical observations, offering strong additional constraints at the highest densities reached in the cores of neutron stars; with the QCD input, the equation of state is no longer prior dominated at any density. The QCD input reduces the pressure and speed of sound at high densities, and it predicts that binary collisions of equal-mass neutron stars will produce a black hole with greater than $95\%$ ($68\%$) credence for masses $M \geq 1.38 M_\odot$ ($M \geq 1.25 M_\odot$). We provide a Python implementation of the QCD likelihood function so that it can be conveniently used within other inference setups.

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arXiv2022

QCD in the cores of neutron stars

I discuss why state-of-the art perturbative QCD calculations of the equation of state at large chemical potential that are reliable at asymptotically high densities constrain the same equation of state at neutron-star densities. I describe how these theoretical calculations affect the EOS at lower density. I argue that the ab-initio calculations in QCD offer significant information about the equation of state of the neutron-star matter, which is complementary to the current astrophysical observations.

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arXiv2022

How perturbative QCD constrains the Equation of State at Neutron-Star densities

We demonstrate in a general and analytic way how high-density information about the equation of state (EoS) of strongly interacting matter obtained using perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (pQCD) constrains the same EoS at densities reachable in physical neutron stars. Our approach is based on utilizing the full information of the thermodynamic potentials at the high-density limit together with thermodynamic stability and causality. This requires considering the pressure as a function of chemical potential $p(μ)$ instead of the commonly used pressure as a function of energy density $p(ε)$. The results can be used to propagate the pQCD calculations reliable around 40$n_s$ to lower densities in the most conservative way possible. We constrain the EoS starting from only few times the nuclear saturation density $n \gtrsim 2.2 n_s$ and at $n = 5 n_s$ we exclude at least 65% of otherwise allowed area in the $(ε- p)$-plane. This provides information complementary to astrophysical observations that should be taken into account in any complete statistical inference study of the EoS. These purely theoretical results are independent of astrophysical neutron-star input, and hence, they can also be used to test theories of modified gravity and BSM physics in neutron stars.

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