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In certain neutron
stars the shedding of angular momentum and energy
over time causes the star to contract. As the star's core
density increases, some neutrons can "melt," creating an environment
in which normally
unstable particles such as hyperons and
strange quarks can survive indefinitely and
can even come to predominate in
more and more of the star (a, b, c).
An estimated 1% of all neutron stars are undergoing this sort of transition. (Illustration by
Malcolm Tarlton, American Institute of Physics.)
This topic is described by Norman K. Glendenning, S. Pei, and F. Weber in the 1 September 1997 issue of Physical Review Letters.
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