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Rotational enhancement and stability of protoquark stars during thermal evolution

Authors: Issifu, A.; Konstantinou, A.; Thakur, P.; Frederico, T.

Ref.: Phys. Rev. D 113(12), 123056 (2026)

Abstract: We present the first systematic study of rigidly rotating protoquark stars based on isentropic equations of state (EOS) within the density-dependent quark mass framework. Using a quasistatic equilibrium approach, we follow the Kelvin-Helmholtz evolution from hot, lepton-rich matter to a cold, catalyzed quark star (QS). Rotation substantially enhances the maximum stable mass (by up to 40%), equatorial radius, and key rotational observables, with the ratio of rotational kinetic to gravitational potential energy, Tkin/jWj, reaching 0.18-0.19 near the Keplerian limit, indicating a heightened susceptibility to gravitationalwave-emitting instabilities. Thermal evolution introduces a clear ordering: all stellar properties peak during the lepton-rich stages and decrease monotonically as the star cools. Compared to hadronic stars, rotating proto-QSs exhibit larger radii, higher moments of inertia, and stronger quadrupolar deformation, producing a distinct signature in the mass-radius-spin plane. The EOS parameters are constrained using current astrophysical observations, including mass-radius measurements from HESS J1731-347 and PSR J0030 + 0451, the high-mass constraint from PSR J0740 + 6620, and mass-radius constraints inferred from GW170817. The results demonstrate that future multimessenger observations must account for both thermal history and rotation to identify quark matter in compact stars robustly.

DOI: 10.1103/cq92-xqhr