Rejecting Proposed Dense Matter Equations of State with Quiescent Low-mass X-Ray Binaries

Abstract

Neutrons stars are unique laboratories for discriminating between the various proposed equations of state of matter at and above nuclear density. One sub-class of neutron stars—those inside quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs)—produce a thermal surface emission from which the neutron star radius (R _NS) can be measured, using the widely accepted observational scenario for qLMXBs, assuming unmagnetized H atmospheres. In a combined spectral analysis, this work first reproduces a previously published measurement of the R _NS, assumed to be the same for all neutron stars, using a slightly expanded data set. The radius measured is {R_NS}=9.4+/- 1.2{ km}. On the basis of spectral analysis alone, this measured value is not affected by imposing an assumption of causality in the core. However, the assumptions underlying this R _NS measurement would be falsified by the observation of any neutron star with a mass >2.6 M _⊙, since radii <11{ km} would be rejected if causality is assumed, which would exclude most of the R _NS parameter space obtained in this analysis. Finally, this work directly tests a selection of dense matter equations of state: WFF1, AP4, MPA1, PAL1, MS0, and three versions of equations of state produced through chiral effective theory. Two of those, MS0 and PAL1, are rejected at the 99% confidence level, accounting for all quantifiable uncertainties, while the other cannot be excluded at >99% certainty.