Effect of quark-hadron phase transitions on the neutron star mass distribution
Abstract
The neutron star (NS) mass distribution serves as a crucial probe of the dense matter equation of state (EOS) and core-collapse supernova explosion mechanisms. Although observations reveal a bimodal NS mass distribution, existing theoretical simulations often struggle to naturally reproduce the high-mass peak, and the impact of the quark-hadron phase transition (PT) in high-density nuclear matter remains largely unexplored. Employing the 1D general-relativistic hydrodynamics code GR1D with hybrid EOSs incorporating a first-order PT (RDF1.1 and RDF1.2), we systematically simulate core-collapse supernovae for progenitors with zero-age main-sequence masses ranging from 13 to 120 M⊙. Our results reveal a threefold impact of the PT onset density on the final supernova fate: in low-compactness progenitors, an early PT truncates accretion and produces less massive NSs; in the critical-compactness regime, it facilitates successful explosions; and in high-compactness progenitors, it accelerates black hole formation. Compared with the ∼ 1.4 M⊙ peak typical of the conventional core-collapse scenario, the inclusion of the PT produces NSs with masses centered around 1.70 M⊙ for RDF1.1 and within $1.55−−1.70\,M_\odot$ for RDF1.2. Furthermore, we identify a novel formation channel whereby low-compactness progenitors with failed initial shocks can form more massive NSs via a PT-induced second shock. Due to the fixed nature of the PT boundary, the final NS masses exhibit a pronounced clustering effect. This study elucidates the critical role of the quark-hadron PT in shaping the NS mass distribution, providing important astrophysical constraints on the properties of high-density nuclear matter and the formation mechanism of massive NSs.
Versions
Related
- General-purpose equations of state for hadron-quark matter: first application to accretion-induced phase transitions in neutron stars
- Neutron Star Merger Universality Relations for a Quark--Hadron Crossover Equation of State
- Astrophysical Constraints on Hadron--Quark Crossover in Hybrid Neutron Stars
- How Neutron Star Radii Encode the Dense-Matter Equation of State and Hadron-Quark Transition
- How Neutron Star Radii Encode the Dense-matter Equation of State and Hadron–Quark Transition
BibTeX
@misc{luo2026effect,
title = {{Effect of quark-hadron phase transitions on the neutron star mass distribution}},
author = {Renyu Luo and XuRun Huang and Shuai Zha and Guoliang Lü and Chunhua Zhu and Sufen Guo and Helei Liu and Zhijun Wang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.41242},
eprint = {2610.41242},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.41242},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Effect of quark-hadron phase transitions on the neutron star mass distribution
AU - Renyu Luo
AU - XuRun Huang
AU - Shuai Zha
AU - Guoliang Lü
AU - Chunhua Zhu
AU - Sufen Guo
AU - Helei Liu
AU - Zhijun Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.41242
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.41242
AB - The neutron star (NS) mass distribution serves as a crucial probe of the dense matter equation of state (EOS) and core-collapse supernova explosion mechanisms. Although observations reveal a bimodal NS mass distribution, existing theoretical simulations often struggle to naturally reproduce the high-mass peak, and the impact of the quark-hadron phase transition (PT) in high-density nuclear matter remains largely unexplored. Employing the 1D general-relativistic hydrodynamics code GR1D with hybrid EOSs incorporating a first-order PT (RDF1.1 and RDF1.2), we systematically simulate core-collapse supernovae for progenitors with zero-age main-sequence masses ranging from 13 to 120 M_⊙. Our results reveal a threefold impact of the PT onset density on the final supernova fate: in low-compactness progenitors, an early PT truncates accretion and produces less massive NSs; in the critical-compactness regime, it facilitates successful explosions; and in high-compactness progenitors, it accelerates black hole formation. Compared with the ∼ 1.4 M_⊙ peak typical of the conventional core-collapse scenario, the inclusion of the PT produces NSs with masses centered around 1.70 M_⊙ for RDF1.1 and within $1.55−−1.70\,M_\odot$ for RDF1.2. Furthermore, we identify a novel formation channel whereby low-compactness progenitors with failed initial shocks can form more massive NSs via a PT-induced second shock. Due to the fixed nature of the PT boundary, the final NS masses exhibit a pronounced clustering effect. This study elucidates the critical role of the quark-hadron PT in shaping the NS mass distribution, providing important astrophysical constraints on the properties of high-density nuclear matter and the formation mechanism of massive NSs.
ER -