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Impact of Magnetic-field-driven Anisotropies on the Equation of State Probed in Neutron Star Mergers
Authors: Most, E.R.; Peterson, J.; Scurto, L.; Pais, H.; Dexheimer, V.
Ref.: Astrophys. J. Lett. 989(2), L29 (2025)
Abstract: Binary neutron star mergers can produce extreme magnetic fields, some of which can lead to strong magnetar-like remnants. While strong magnetic fields have been shown to affect the dynamics of outflows and angular momentum transport in the remnant, they can also crucially alter the properties of nuclear matter probed in the merger. In this work, we provide a first assessment of the latter, determining the strength of the pressure anisotropy caused by Landau-level quantization and the anomalous magnetic moment. To this end, we perform the first numerical relativity simulation with a magnetic polarization tensor and a magnetic-field-dependent equation of state using a new algorithm we present here, which also incorporates a mean-field dynamo model to control the magnetic field strength present in the merger remnant. Our results show that-in the most optimistic case-corrections to the anisotropy can be in excess of 10% and are potentially largest in the outer layers of the remnant. This work paves the way for a systematic investigation of these effects.
