Whoa! New evidence suggests that massive neutron stars could have cores made of deconfined quark matter, forming what could be called a ‘quark star’. Unlike ordinary neutron stars with densely packed neutrons, squeezing these neutrons hard enough could break them into quarks and gluons. Physicists at CERN and Brookhaven have created a similar ‘quark-gluon plasma’. A recent study proposes that about 80% of massive neutron stars might have deconfined quark matter cores. This matter may exhibit ‘conformal symmetry’, meaning it appears the same at different scales. The concept of conformal symmetry is fascinating and could have significant implications in the world of physics.
https://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2024/08/02/quark-stars/