摘要: 中子星结构一直是核物理、粒子物理和天体物理共同关注的热点难题，双中子星并合事件GW170817的发现更是掀起这一研究的高潮。致密物质的状态方程是决定中子星结构的关键输入量，但是到目前为止，高密度的核物质状态方程行为依然很难确定。如今国内外已有许多运行或规划的大型核实验装置和天文观测设备，有望帮助我们很快解开致密物质状态方程的谜团。本文系统地阐述了基于微观多体理论和唯象模型对脉冲星类天体状态方程的研究现状，也讨论了奇异相变和奇异物质。结合理论计算和核物理实验及天文观测数据，致密物质状态方程的研究已取得相当多进展，但是也面临不少挑战，比如从实验和观测数据提取状态方程信息时的模型依赖，中子星各部分模型的不自洽以及各种依赖热密物质复杂动力学性质的实验和观测量。随着LIGO即将再运行而发现更多双中子星甚至中子星-黑洞等并合事件，多信使天文观测可望最终揭开中子星结构之谜。


The matter state inside neutron stars (NSs) is an exciting problem in nuclear physics, particle physics and astrophysics. The equation of state (EOS) of NSs plays a crucial role in the present multimessenger astronomy, especially after the event of GW170817. Thanks to accruing studies with advanced telescopes and radioactive beam facilities, the unknown EOS of supranuclear matter could soon be understood. We review the current status of the EOS for pulsar-like compact objects, that have been studied with both microscopic many-body approaches and phenomenological models. The appearance of strange baryonic matter and strange quark matter are also discussed. We compare the theoretical predictions with different data coming from both nuclear physics experiments and astrophysical observations. Despite great progresses obtained in dense nuclear matter properties, there are various challenges ahead, such as the model dependence of the constraints extracted from either experimental or observational data, the lack of a consistent and rigorous many-body treatment of all parts of the star, the dependence of many observables on the turbulent dynamics of relevant hot dense system. As LIGO is about to run again and discover more NS merger events, multimessenger observations are expected to finally unravel the mystery of NS structure.