Affiliation: Aristotle university of Thessaloniki (AUTh)

Title: Phase transitions in dense nuclear matter and applications to neutron stars 

Abstract: Neutron stars are considered to be unique laboratories for the study of dense nuclear matter. Interestingly, the extreme conditions that prevail in their interior have allowed physicists to propose exotic scenarios concerning their structure. One of these scenarios is related to the occurrence of a first-order phase transition from hadronic to deconfined quark matter in the stellar interior, and hence to the possible existence of so-called hybrid stars. In the present talk, we will be presenting our recent results on the viable parameter space of the hadron-to-quark phase parameters by exploiting recent astronomical data. Additionally, we will discuss recent observations that may support the existence of hybrid compact objects in the universe. Finally, we will review possible avenues that may aid to their future identification in the era of multi-messenger astronomy.