quark star
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The candidate quark star RX J185635-375
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A hypothetical star composed of free quarks with
a density intermediate between that of a neutron
star and a black hole. First theorized
in the 1980s, it had been seriously doubted whether these objects really
existed in nature. However, in April 2002, observations by the Chandra
X-ray Observatory of an object known as RX J185635-375, about 450 light-years
away, seemed to fit the bill. RX J1856 was previously thought to be a neutron
star but Chandra's measurements suggest that, at just over 11 km across,
it is too small to be composed of solid nucleons
(neutrons and protons). Instead, at the density it appears to have, nucleons
would burst apart releasing their constituent quarks. A second candidate
quark star is 3C58, previously believed to be an ordinary neutron star resulting
from a supernova that occurred in the year 1181. However, with a surface
temperature of only about 1 million °C, it is much cooler than it should
be if made purely of nucleons; theory suggests that some of 3C58's material
has degenerated into a quark broth.
Archived news
Quark soup may
cause cosmic flashes (Feb 25, 2005)
External site
Quark
stars point to new matter (BBC)
Related categories
• TYPES
OF STAR
• SCIENTIFIC
MYSTERIES
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