Abstract. An equation of state (EOS) of neutron star matter, describing both the neutron star crust and the liquid core, is calculated. It is based on the effective nuclear interaction SLy of the Skyrme type, which is particularly suitable for the application to the calculation of the properties of very neutron rich matter (Chabanat et al. 1997(Chabanat et al. , 1998. The structure of the crust, and its EOS, is calculated in the T = 0 approximation, and under the assumption of the ground state composition. The crust-core transition is a very weakly first-order phase transition, with relative density jump of about one percent. The EOS of the liquid core is calculated assuming (minimal) npeµ composition. Parameters of static neutron stars are calculated and compared with existing observational data on neutron stars. The minimum and maximum masses of static neutron stars are 0.094 M and 2.05 M , respectively. Effects of rotation on the minimum and the maximum mass of neutron stars are briefly discussed.

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We briefly examine the properties of dense plasmas characteristic of the atmospheres of neutron stars and of the interior of massive white dwarfs. These astrophysical bodies are natural laboratories to study respectively the problem of pressure ionization of hydrogen in a strong magnetic field and the crystallization of the quantum one-component-plasma at finite temperature.prepared for "Liquid state theory : from white dwarfs to colloids" An international conference on the occasion of Prof. Jean-Pierre Hansen's 60th birthday Les Houches April 1-5, 2002

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