Presentation Archive

Nuclear Symmetry Energy from Astrophysical Observations

Reed Essick (CITA)

February 01, 2023

Abstract: Neutron stars offer unique laboratories to study nuclear physics, as nature produces matter at densities higher than can be achieved in terrestrial experiments. This talk will introduce a basic physical picture of (npe) matter at nuclear densities and identify several important parameters, including the symmetry energy and its derivatives. We will discuss why these parameters are important for the structure of Neutron Stars and nuclear physics more generally. We will also discuss how well properties of npe matter near nuclear saturation density can be constrained by astrophysical observations of neutron stars and, time permitting, how to avoid some common pitfalls of parametric models.