The Quark-Meson Coupling model as a description of dense matter

Abstract

Quantum Hadrodynamics provides a useful framework for investigating dense matter, yet it breaks down easily when strangeness carrying baryons are introduced into the calculations, as the baryon effective masses become negative due to large meson field potentials. The Quark-Meson Coupling model overcomes this issue by incorporating the quark structure of the nucleon, thus allowing for a feedback between the the nuclei and the interaction with the meson fields. With the inclusion of this feature, QMC provides a successful description of finite nuclei and nuclear matter. We present the latest parameterization of QMC and discuss the predictions for dense nuclear matter and `neutron' stars.