Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
Astrophysical Equation-of-State Constraints on the Color-Superconducting Gap
Aleksi Kurkela1, Krishna Rajagopal2,3, Rachel Steinhorst2
1Faculty of Science and Technology, <a href="https://ror.org/02qte9q33">University of Stavanger</a>, 4036 Stavanger, Norway.
Abstract:
We demonstrate that astrophysical constraints on the dense-matter equation of state place an upper bound on the color-superconducting gap in dense matter above the transition from nuclear matter to quark matter. Pairing effects in the color-flavor locked quark matter phase increase the pressure at high density, and if this effect is sufficiently large then the requirements of causality and mechanical stability make it impossible to reach such a pressure in a way that is consistent with what is known at lower densities. The intermediate-density equation of state is inferred by considering extensions of chiral effective field theory to neutron star densities, and conditioning these using current astrophysical observations of neutron star radius, maximum mass, and tidal deformability (PSR J0348+0432, PSR J1624-2230, PSR J0740+6620, GW170817). At baryon number chemical potential μ=2.6 GeV we find a 95% upper limit on the color-flavor locked pairing gap Δ of 457 MeV using overly conservative assumptions and 216 MeV with more reasonable assumptions. This constraint may be strengthened by future astrophysical measurements as well as by future advances in high-density QCD calculations.
Related Concept Videos
Equation of State
Superconductor
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
Theory of Metallic Conduction
In this theory, Newton's second law of motion is used to determine the acceleration of an electron in the presence of an applied electric field. Then, its velocity is expressed via this acceleration.
An electron moves through the crystal, containing positive ions,...
Gauss's Law in Dielectrics
The Pauli Exclusion Principle

