SQM stars around pulsar PSR B1257+12

Abstract

Following Wolszczan's landmark discovery of planets in orbit around pulsar PSR B1257+12 in 1991, over 300 planets in more than 200 planetary systems have been found. Therefore, the meaning of Wolszczan's discovery cannot be overestimated. In this paper we aim to convince the reader that the objects accompanying pulsar PSR B1257+12 are more exotic than thought so far. They might not be ordinary planets but dwarf strange quark stars, whereas the pulsar might be a quark star with standard mass, not a neutron star. If this was the case, it would indicate that strange quark matter is the ground state of matter.