Nuclear matter

A common idealization is symmetric nuclear matter, which consists of equal numbers of protons and neutrons, with no electrons.

When nuclear matter is compressed to sufficiently high density, it is expected, on the basis of the asymptotic freedom of quantum chromodynamics, that it will become quark matter, which is a degenerate Fermi gas of quarks.

[6] Some authors use "nuclear matter" in a broader sense, and refer to the model described above as "infinite nuclear matter",[1] and consider it as a "toy model", a testing ground for analytical techniques.

[9][10] In a neutron star, pressure rises from zero (at the surface) to an unknown large value in the center.

Methods capable of treating finite regions have been applied to stars and to atomic nuclei.

Phases of nuclear matter with equal numbers of neutrons and protons; Compare with Siemens & Jensen. [ 1 ]
Cross-section of neutron star. Densities are in terms of ρ 0 the saturation nuclear matter density, where nucleons begin to touch. Patterned after Haensel et al. , [ 7 ] page 12