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arxiv: 2311.18819 · v3 · pith:SXWUKZAQnew · submitted 2023-11-30 · ⚛️ nucl-th · astro-ph.HE· astro-ph.SR

Structure in the speed of sound: from neutron stars to heavy-ion collisions

classification ⚛️ nucl-th astro-ph.HEastro-ph.SR
keywords soundspeedheavy-ionmatterneutronstatecollisionsequations
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From the observation of both heavy neutron stars and light ones with small radii, one anticipates a steep rise in the speed of sound of nuclear matter as a function of baryon density up to values close to the causal limit. A question follows whether such behavior of the speed of sound in neutron-rich matter is compatible with the equation of state extracted from low-energy heavy-ion collisions. In this work, we consider a family of neutron star equations of state characterized by a steep rise in the speed of sound, and use the symmetry energy expansion to obtain equations of state applicable to the almost-symmetric nuclear matter created in heavy-ion collisions. We then compare collective flow data from low-energy heavy-ion experiments with results of simulations obtained using the hadronic transport code SMASH with the mean-field potential reproducing the density-dependence of the speed of sound. We show that equations of state featuring a peak in the speed of sound squared occurring at densities between 2-3 times the saturation density of normal nuclear matter, producing neutron stars of nearly M_max~2.5 M_Sun, are consistent with heavy-ion collision data.

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