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bbbl67
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- TL;DR Summary
- Why is strange matter considered so dangerous that it could convert any matter that gets in contact with it to strange matter?
So various articles and videos suggest that if a piece of strange matter, or a strangelet, were to touch the Earth, the entire Earth would eventually get converted into strange matter too. Now, from what I've read strange quarks have a half-life of ##10^{-10}## s, so I can't see how it would remain stable outside of a neutron star. But they say some theories suggest that strange matter can remain stable outside of a neutron star, forming what they call strangelets. I mean even inside a strange star, only the very most central core of the neutron star can become strange matter, while the rest of the neutron star remains regular old neutrons, and a few protons and electrons. So even the whole neutron star isn't converted into strange matter either. So my first question is, what are these theories (e.g. Superstring theory, LQG, etc.)? Is this a well established theory or just a speculative theory?
Second question. If and when a strange matter core is established inside a neutron star, the main reason to do so is to package mass more efficiently and densely inside the core than even neutronium. I think most estimates say that strange quarks are about 2 dozen times more massive than up or down quarks. So a strange quark has the same charge as a down quark, so it's likely a down quark would get converted into a strange quark. Now that would preserve charge balance, but not mass balance. A single strange quark would have to replace 2 dozen down quarks to preserve mass balance. How do you preserve mass balance? Do you let some neutrons escape into space (eventually decaying to protons, electrons, and neutrinos), or do you create anti-neutrons from the virtual particles and use that to annihilate excess neutrons?
And finally the third question, comes from this paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2236463_Maximum_mass_and_radius_of_strange_stars_in_the_linear_approximation_of_the_EOS
This paper suggests that the maximum mass of a strange star ranges between 1.77 to 1.9 solar masses, I'll say 1.8 for short. That is pretty much within the range of regular neutron stars, not any higher. And in fact, the recent gravitational wave findings, when two neutron stars collided, showed that the maximum mass of a neutron star can be up to 2.16 solar masses, so they can actually be heavier than strange stars. If that's the case, then what would create the special conditions inside certain neutron stars to become strange stars, if they could remain just normal neutron stars at masses exceeding the maximum masses of strange stars?
Second question. If and when a strange matter core is established inside a neutron star, the main reason to do so is to package mass more efficiently and densely inside the core than even neutronium. I think most estimates say that strange quarks are about 2 dozen times more massive than up or down quarks. So a strange quark has the same charge as a down quark, so it's likely a down quark would get converted into a strange quark. Now that would preserve charge balance, but not mass balance. A single strange quark would have to replace 2 dozen down quarks to preserve mass balance. How do you preserve mass balance? Do you let some neutrons escape into space (eventually decaying to protons, electrons, and neutrinos), or do you create anti-neutrons from the virtual particles and use that to annihilate excess neutrons?
And finally the third question, comes from this paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2236463_Maximum_mass_and_radius_of_strange_stars_in_the_linear_approximation_of_the_EOS
This paper suggests that the maximum mass of a strange star ranges between 1.77 to 1.9 solar masses, I'll say 1.8 for short. That is pretty much within the range of regular neutron stars, not any higher. And in fact, the recent gravitational wave findings, when two neutron stars collided, showed that the maximum mass of a neutron star can be up to 2.16 solar masses, so they can actually be heavier than strange stars. If that's the case, then what would create the special conditions inside certain neutron stars to become strange stars, if they could remain just normal neutron stars at masses exceeding the maximum masses of strange stars?