Rotation-driven phase transitions in the cores of pulsars

RICHARD MELLINGER JR; WILLIAM SPINELLA; FRIDOLIN WEBER; GUATAVO A. CONTRERA; MILVA ORSARIA

Workshop; 7th International Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics (IWARA 2016); 2016

In this paper, we discuss the impact of rotation on the particle composition of rotating neutron stars (pulsars). Particular emphasis is put on the formation of quark matter during stellar spin-down, driven by continuous gravitational compression. Our study is based on modern models for the nuclear equation of state whose parameters are tightly constrained by nuclear data, neutron star masses, and the latest estimates of neutron star radii.