All matter is composed of atoms, which are in turn composed of quarks. Each quarks are separated into flavors: Up, Down, Charm, Top, Bottom, and Strange, and each have their purposes. As the only particles able to interact through all four fundamental forces, these being Gravity, Electromagnetism, Weak Force, and the Strong Force, Quarks are the common denominator among particles, coming together to form all hadronic matter, which represents 99% of visible matter(protons[uud] & neutrons[ddu] being the only stable ones, although hundreds of unstable hadrons have been discovered through the use of hadron colliders) in the form of baryons[qqq] composed of three quarks and mesons[qq] composed of a quark and an anti-quark.
The Strong Force has force carriers called gluons which act as the “glue” between quarks, facilitating the interaction between particles and keeping quarks together, ensuring they remain hadrons. These gluons have no mass; consequently, their energy acts as effective mass in hadrons as a result of the gluons inherent energy. The mass gluons create comes from the energy of the strong force interaction and the nuclear force field it generates, and the kinetic energy of quarks within hadrons, thus converting energy into the total inertial mass of the hadron; this comes from Einstein’s Mass-Energy Equivalence, which many know as E=mc², which states energy and mass are different forms of the same thing. This interaction is responsible for 90-99% of a particles mass. Additional quarks differentiate largely through their mass and purpose, with t,b, and c quarks being far heavier than standard up and down particles. The remaining mass of quarks(less than 5%) comes from their interaction through the Higgs Mechanism/Field. This field creates “drag”, slowing particles down and establishing their “current” mass i.e. the mass of the particle without incorporating gluons. This drag is comparable to the gravity and air resistance we face here on Earth, where when you throw a ball it doesn’t travel forever, gravity pulls it down and air resistance slows it.
About 96% of the universe is dark energy, with 69% being dark energy and 26% being dark matter, with the remaining 5% being atomic matter(Chandra X-Ray Center). While there are many theories about the unknowns of particle physics, one of the most prevailing is known as the Supersymmetry model, or SUSY for short. This model proposes that for every subatomic particle there is a heavier, undiscovered superpartner with a spin differing by a half-integer. There are numerous theories on the composition of dark matter in beyond the standard model particles; one promising theory states that dark matter is composed of WIMPs (otherwise known as weakly interacting massive particles), specifically LSP(Lightest Supersymmetric Particle) neutralinos. Under this model, when dark matter is its own antiparticle and collides with each other it will release energy in the form of neutrinos. Extreme gravity concentrates dark matter, accelerating the rate of self annihilation through an increase in particle collisions. When WIMPs self-annihilate, they release energy equivalent to twice the WIMPs mass, leading to the heating of the neutron star. This continuous heating provides the star with a long term energy source, extending its life. The heat converted causes ud matter reactions such as u + d ↔ u + s to form drops of strange matter called strangelets. These strangelets decay rapidly unless they’ve met a certain size threshold, and of those, the largest could cause a full conversion of a neutron star to a “Strange Star”. This process works as a sort of infection, with the superstable strange matter converting less stable nuclear matter to strange quark matter(SQM), releasing energy, further triggering neighboring matter to convert. This process is called “seeding”, in reference to the growing nature of strange matter. The complete conversion of the star originates under the extreme pressure at its core. Neutrons are smashed together, breaking up into their u and d quarks creating a quark bath. Due to the immense density some of these are converted into strange quarks.. Once a large enough strangelet has appeared i.e. has a baryon number of at least 1012 or more, the star can start its conversion process
The process of conversion is hypothesized to be completed in milliseconds, and as neutron stars turn into strange quark matter, similar to a supernova, neutrinos are released in a large burst due to decay. These bursts would theoretically be detectable from specific telescopes, granted they happen in or near the milky way, and have a value of at least 1052 erg. This could theoretically power Gamma Ray Bursts, although likely to be slightly different than GRBs from neutron star mergers or star collapses. Pagliara and others claim that “From the previous results on the neutrino luminosities one can easily estimate the total energy released by the conversion process to be of the order of 1053 erg. It is thus powerful enough to be compared with the energy released within the most violent and, to some extent, still mysterious explosions of the Universe, i.e., SNe and long GRBs. It is then clearly tempting to associate at least some of these explosions to the formation of a strange star.” Sometimes, two neutrino bursts are detected from a Neutron Star, with the first being a supernova creating the neutron star, and the second being the conversion to a strange star. The timing of these GRBs can be tracked and predicted through the neutrinos produced when high energy protons interact with photons; since neutrinos travel faster than light, they could theoretically act as an “early warning” system for detecting GRBs. If this process were to actually occur, the rate of neutrino production would likely be far less than that from a supernova, resulting in a short but stronger GRB as opposed to a longer lasting one.
Through the use of computational fluid dynamics software, researchers are able to model the behaviors of gases or liquids, or in this case the surface of a neutron star and strange quark matter inside of it in order to understand the progression of SQM conversion in a neutron star.. By separating the hadronic and newly converted strange matter with a simulated conversion front, the expansive conversion of the star to strange quark matter can be modeled. Starting as a small seed of strange matter in the center of a neutron star and propagating outwards as a deflagrative combustion similar to terrestrial sub-sonic explosives such as the ignition of gunpowder or propane gas, the surface area of the conversion front rapidly expands with the new surface of strange quark matter converting any hadronic matter it touches due to its greater stability.
As said by Pagliara and others, much of this area of study is theoretical, as these objects are millions of light years away, and we are operating under specific proposed theories such as the supersymmetry theory, mass energy equivalence, and others, some of which are proven, others not. The exact nature of dark matter and energy is unknown, but, regardless, it holds the secrets of our universe at a fundamental degree. By studying dark matter, strange matter, and neutrinos on a particular level, especially in dense, super-heated conditions similar to the origin of the universe, like in the cores of neutron stars, we can better come to understand how the universe went from unbound quark-gluon plasma to the universal building blocks we know today, unraveling the secrets of our universes past, and hopefully, future.
