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Quark star


A quark star is a hypothetical type of compact exotic star composed of quark matter, where extremely high temperature and pressure forces nuclear particles to dissolve into a continuous phase consisting of free quarks. These are ultra-dense phases of degenerate matter theorized to form inside neutron stars exceeding a predicted internal pressure needed for quark degeneracy. Quark stars, if they exist, would resemble and be mistaken for neutron stars: they would form in the death of a massive star in a Type II supernova, they would be extremely dense and possess a very high gravitational field.

The hypothesis about quark stars was first proposed in 1965 by Soviet physicists D. D. Ivanenko and D. F. Kurdgelaidze. Their existence has not been confirmed. The equation of state of quark matter is uncertain, as is the transition point between neutron-degenerate matter and quark matter. Theoretical uncertainties have precluded making predictions from first principles. Experimentally, the behaviour of quark matter is being actively studied with particle colliders, but this can only produce very hot (above 1012 K) quark-gluon plasma blobs the size of atomic nuclei, which decay immediately after formation. The conditions inside compact stars with extremely high densities and temperatures well below 1012 K can not be recreated artificially, so there are no known methods to produce, store or study "cold" quark matter directly as it would be found inside quark stars. The theory predicts quark matter to possess some peculiar characteristics under these conditions.

It is theorized that when the neutron-degenerate matter, which makes up neutron stars, is put under sufficient pressure from the star's own gravity or the initial supernova creating it, the individual neutrons break down into their constituent quarks (up quarks and down quarks), forming what is known as quark matter. This conversion might be confined to the neutron star's center or it might transform the entire star, depending on the physical circumstances. Such a star is known as a quark star.


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