The physics of dense hadronic matter and compact stars

This review describes the properties of hadronic phases of dense matter in compact stars. The theory is developed within the method of real-time Green's functions and is applied to the study of baryonic matter at and above the saturation density. The non-relativistic and covariant theories based on continuum Green's functions and the T-matrix and related approximations to the self-energies are reviewed. The effects of symmetry energy, onset of hyperons and meson condensation on the properties of stellar configurations are demonstrated on specific examples. Neutrino interactions with baryonic matter are introduced within a kinetic theory. We concentrate on the classification, analysis and first principle derivation of neutrino radiation processes from unpaired and superfluid hadronic phases. We then demonstrate how neutrino radiation rates from various microscopic processes affect the macroscopic cooling of neutron stars and how the observed X-ray fluxes from pulsars constrain the properties of dense hadronic matter. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.