Strange matter
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Strange matter (or strange quark matter) is
Ordinary
Context
In particle physics and astrophysics, the term 'strange matter' is used in two different contexts, one broader and the other more specific and hypothetical:[1][2]
- In the broader context, our current understanding of the neutrons) is compressed beyond a critical density. At this critical pressure and density, the protons and neutrons dissociate into quarks, yielding quark matter and potentially strange matter.
- A more specific hypothesis is that quark matter is the true ground state of all matter, and thus more stable than ordinary nuclear matter. This idea is known as the "strange matter hypothesis", or the metastable, even when the external critical pressure is zero, and given enough time (or the right stimulus) the nuclei would decay into stable droplets of strange matter. Droplets of strange matter are also referred to as strangelets.
Stability of strange matter only at high pressure
In the general context, strange matter might occur inside neutron stars, if the pressure at their core is high enough to provide a sufficient gravitational force (i.e. above the critical pressure). At the sort of densities and high pressures we expect in the center of a neutron star, the quark matter would probably be strange matter. It could conceivably be non-strange quark matter, if the effective mass of the strange quark were too high. Charm quarks and heavier quarks would only occur at much higher densities.
Strange matter comes about as a way to relieve
A neutron star with a quark matter core is often
One major area of activity in neutron star physics is the attempt to find observable signatures by which we could tell whether neutron stars have quark matter (probably strange matter) in their core.
During the merger of two neutron stars, strange matter may be ejected out into the space around the stars, which may allow for the studying of strange matter. However, the rate at which strange matter decays is unknown, and there are very few binary pairs of neutron stars nearby to the Solar System, which could make the official discovery of strange matter very difficult.
Stability of strange matter at zero pressure
If the "
- Quark stars (often called "strange stars") consist of quark matter from their core to their surface. They would be several kilometers across, and may have a very thin crust of nuclear matter.[2]
- Strangelets are small pieces of strange matter, perhaps as small as nuclei. They would be produced when strange stars are formed or collide, or when a nucleus decays.[1]
See also
- Exotic matter – Any kind of unfamiliar matter with highly unusual properties
- Quark star – Compact exotic star which forms matter consisting mostly of quarks
- Strangeness and quark–gluon plasma – subatomic signature
- Strangelet – Type of hypothetical particle
- Quark – Elementary particle, main constituent of matter
- QCD matter – Hypothetical phases of matter