Dear list Members:
The recent news concerning the possible discovery of a Quark star
based on a Two Flavor Color BCS condensate holds promise for some very
interesting Physics if this observation turns out to be correctly
interpreted.
However here's a conjecture/question which hopefully some list member
would be willing to address. All observed neutron stars observed to date have
been found to have a mass of about 1.4 solar units. Now theoretically a
neutron star should be able to have a mass of up to 3 solar units before a
black hole inevitable results.
Does anyone suspect that this might suggest that neutron stars with
masses above 1.4 solar units generally become Quark stars after spin down and
thermal heat loss creates the condition necessary for the 2CS condition to
occur. Since Quark stars are highly compact, having radiuses close to the
Schwarzchild radius, could Quark stars be an interim state for heavier
Neutron stars on their way to becoming black holes? This is suggested by the
general absence of quark stars, Neutron stars with masses greater than 1.4
solar units and the very compact nature of Quark stars.
One more important point here is that at less than about 3 Schwarzchild
radiuses, general relativity predicts that centrifugal "force" will actually
cause a star to contract as it spins faster. This may present some problems
for a simple spin down scenario. Any helpful comments on this would be most
appreciated.