Constraining the Equation of State of Nuclear Matter with Neutron Stars

Abstract

Neutron stars present one of the best opportunities to constrain the equation of state of nuclear matter. With the gravitational wave experiment and the imminent radius measurements by NICER, understanding what these macroscopic properties are both theoretically and numerically is of great interest to any astronomy or nuclear physicist. Our goal is to explain the topics necessary to understand the constrained quantities in question and allow for easy numerical calculation if one chooses to do so. This will cover nuclear theory and general relativity, finishing with a collection of numerical results with regards to the quark-meson coupling model’s equations of state and is intended for individuals who understand special relativity and quantum field theory at a minimum.