Nuclear matter equation of state from a quark-model nucleon-nucleon interaction

Starting from a realistic constituent quark model for the nucleon-nucleon interaction, we derive the equation of state (EOS) of nuclear matter within the Bethe-Brueckner-Goldstone approach up to three-hole-line level, without need to introduce three-nucleon forces. To estimate the uncertainty of the calculations both the gap and the continuous choices for the single-particle potential are considered and compared. The resultant EOS is compatible with the phenomenological analysis on the saturation point, the incompressibility, the symmetry energy at low density and its slope at saturation, together with the high-density pressure extracted from flow data on heavy ion collisions. Although the symmetry energy is appreciably larger in the gap choice in the high-density region, the maximum neutron star masses derived from the continuous-choice EOS and the gap-choice EOS are similar and close to two solar masses, which is again compatible with recent observational data. Comparison with other microscopic EOS is presented and discussed.