Dense Matter in Neutron Stars with eXTP
Abstract
In this White Paper, we present the potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission to constrain the equation of state of dense matter in neutron stars, exploring regimes not directly accessible to terrestrial experiments. By observing a diverse population of neutron stars - including isolated objects, X-ray bursters, and accreting systems - eXTP's unique combination of timing, spectroscopy, and polarimetry enables high-precision measurements of compactness, spin, surface temperature, polarimetric signals, and timing irregularity. These multifaceted observations, combined with advances in theoretical modeling, pave the way toward a comprehensive description of the properties and phases of dense matter from the crust to the core of neutron stars. Under development by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the eXTP mission is planned to be launched in early 2030.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2506.08104,
title = {Dense Matter in Neutron Stars with eXTP},
author = {Ang Li and Anna L. Watts and Guobao Zhang and Sebastien Guillot and Yanjun Xu and Andrea Santangelo and Silvia Zane and Hua Feng and Shuang-Nan Zhang and Mingyu Ge and Liqiang Qi and Tuomo Salmi and Bas Dorsman and Zhiqiang Miao and Zhonghao Tu and Yuri Cavecchi and Xia Zhou and Xiaoping Zheng and Weihua Wang and Quan Cheng and Xuezhi Liu and Yining Wei and Wei Wang and Yujing Xu and Shanshan Weng and Weiwei Zhu and Zhaosheng Li and Lijing Shao and Youli Tuo and Akira Dohi and Ming Lyu and Peng Liu and Jianping Yuan and Mingyang Wang and Wenda Zhang and Zexi Li and Lian Tao and Liang Zhang and Hong Shen and Constança Providência and Laura Tolos and Alessandro Patruno and Li Li and Guozhu Liu and Kai Zhou and Lie-Wen Chen and Yizhong Fan and Toshitaka Kajino and Dong Lai and Xiangdong Li and Jie Meng and Xiaodong Tang and Zhigang Xiao and Shaolin Xiong and Renxin Xu and Shan-Gui Zhou and David R. Ballantyne and G. Fiorella Burgio and Jérôme Chenevez and Devarshi Choudhury and Anthea F. Fantina and Duncan K. Galloway and Francesca Gulminelli and Kai Hebeler and Mariska Hoogkamer and Jorge E. Horvath and Yves Kini and Aleksi Kurkela and Manuel Linares and Jérôme Margueron and Melissa Mendes and Micaela Oertel and Alessandro Papitto and Juri Poutanen and Nanda Rea and Achim Schwenk and Xin-Ying Song and Isak Svensson and David Tsang and Aleksi Vuorinen and Nils Andersson and M. Coleman Miller and Luciano Rezzolla and Jirina R. Stone and Anthony W. Thomas},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.08104},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
accepted for publication in the SCIENCE CHINA Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy