Abstract
The matter in the interior of neutron stars is the densest stable configuration in the universe [1]. The densities are comparable to, and often much larger than, those found in the interior of atomic nuclei. Unlike nuclei, however, neutron-star matter is extremely neutron-rich. Sophisticated theoretical simulations are required to understand the properties of this matter and, in turn, to figure out quantitatively what is the structure of associated neutron stars.Â
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For decades, there were very few observations sensitive to the thermal excitations of neutron-star matter. The detection of gravitational waves from binary neutron stars provides a new window to study the properties of dense matter [2,3]. In this master’s project, you will use modern computational techniques to study how the properties of dense matter are modified by the extreme temperatures found in neutron star binaries [4,5]. You will model the thermal properties of dense matter, incorporating different nuclear interactions that describe the interior of neutron stars. Your results will be used in large-scale hydrodynamical simulations for neutron-star binaries carried out by collaborators in other astrophysics research groups.Â