Strange quark matter fragmentation in astrophysical events

Autor(es)

Paulucci, L. ^[1] ; Horvath, J. E. ^[2]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed ABC, BR-09210170 Santo Andre, SP - Brazil

^[2] Inst Astron Geofis & Ciencias Atmosfer, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Physics Letters B; v. 733, p. 164-168, JUN 2 2014.
• Citações Web of Science: 17

Resumo

The conjecture of Bodmer-Witten-Terazawa suggesting a form of quark matter (Strange Quark Matter) as the ground state of hadronic interactions has been studied in laboratory and astrophysical contexts by a large number of authors. If strange stars exist, some violent events involving these compact objects, such as mergers and even their formation process, might eject some strange matter into the interstellar medium that could be detected as a trace signal in the cosmic ray flux. To evaluate this possibility, it is necessary to understand how this matter in bulk would fragment in the form of strangelets (small lumps of strange quark matter in which finite effects become important). We calculate the mass distribution outcome using the statistical multifragmentation model and point out several caveats affecting it. In particular, the possibility that strangelets fragmentation will render a tiny fraction of contamination in the cosmic ray flux is discussed. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 07/03633-3 - A matéria hadrônica e QCD em astrofísica: supernovas, GRBS e estrelas compactas
• Beneficiário: Jorge Ernesto Horvath
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático