The mystery of what dwells within dead stars could be solved at last, thanks to supercomputer simulations that show neutron stars are comprised of "cold...
Scientists may be closer than ever to cracking the mystery of what lies deep beneath the surface of dead, ultradense stars called neutron stars. A new supercomputer analysis of neutron stars has revealed that there's between an 80% and 90% chance that these bodies have cores packed with free quarks, which are fundamental, subatomic particles usually only found bound together in other particles like protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons themselves come together to form the nuclei of atoms, around which electrons reside. But according to the team, if neutron star cores are indeed full of free quarks, they'd be composed of an exotic form of matter known as "cold quark matter." And in cold quark matter, individual protons and neutrons cannot exist. So, atoms cannot exist. Only the quarks. If true, this would make neutron stars akin to incredibly enormous atomic nuclei. "It is fascinating to concretely see how each new neutron-star observation enables us to deduce the properties of neutron-star matter with increasing precision," research lead author Joonas Nättilä, who is about to take over as associate professor at the University of Helsinki, said in a statement. Related: Gold mine of kilonova explosions forged by neutron stars crashing together Neutrons stars are born when stars with masses between 10 and 20 times that of the sun run out of the fuel necessary for intrinsic nuclear fusion occurring in their cores. This results in the cessation of the outward energy that, for millions or even billions of years, has held the star stable against the inward pressure of its own gravity. With gravity the victor in this cosmic tug of war, a star's core begins to collapse. As this happens, the outer material of the star,…