Neutron Stars may be bigger than previously imagined:

[beecee]

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-physicists-neutron-stars-bigger-previously.html

Physicists predict neutron stars may be bigger than previously imagined:

When a massive star dies, first there is a supernova explosion. Then, what's left over becomes either a black hole or a neutron star.

That neutron star is the densest celestial body that astronomers can observe, with a mass about 1.4 times the size of the sun. However, there is still little known about these impressive objects. Now, a Florida State University researcher has published a piece in Physical Review Letters arguing that new measurements related to the neutron skin of a lead nucleus may require scientists to rethink theories regarding the overall size of neutron stars.

In short, neutron stars may be larger than scientists previously predicted.

more at link...............

the paper:

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.172503

Implications of PREX-2 on the Equation of State of Neutron-Rich Matter:

ABSTRACT:

Laboratory experiments sensitive to the equation of state of neutron rich matter in the vicinity of nuclear saturation density provide the first rung in a “density ladder” that connects terrestrial experiments to astronomical observations. In this context, the neutron skin thickness of 208Pb (R208skin) provides a stringent laboratory constraint on the density dependence of the symmetry energy. In turn, an improved value of R208skin has been reported recently by the PREX collaboration. Exploiting the strong correlation between R208skin and the slope of the symmetry energy L within a specific class of relativistic energy density functionals, we report a value of L=(106±37)  MeV—which systematically overestimates current limits based on both theoretical approaches and experimental measurements. The impact of such a stiff symmetry energy on some critical neutron-star observables is also examined.