What Can Bulk Viscosity Tell Us about Dense Matter and Physics Beyond the Standard Model? with Steven P. Harris

Bulk viscosity, originating from beta equilibration of dense matter in response to density perturbations, may be a fantastic probe of both the equation of state and the chemical reactions that can occur in dense matter.  I will describe how the peak value of bulk viscosity can be related to the symmetry energy and how the number of resonant peaks in the bulk viscosity relates to the number of equilibration channels in the system.  As an example of the latter, I will discuss how a possible solution of the neutron lifetime anomaly - the decay of a neutron into dark sector particles - can give rise to a second peak in the bulk viscosity, thus enhancing it dramatically in the high temperature environment of a neutron star merger.  

This lecture was made possible by the William C. Ferguson Fund.