The equation of state of cold baryonic matter is studied within a relativistic mean-field model with hadron masses and coupling constants depending on the scalar field. All hadron masses undergo a universal scaling, whereas the couplings are scaled differently. The appearance of hyperons in dense neutron star interiors is accounted for, however the equation of state remains sufficiently stiff if the reduction of the φ meson mass is included. Our equation of state matches well the constraints known from analyses of the astrophysical data and particle production in heavy-ion collisions.

We extend the relativistic mean-field models with hadron masses and meson-baryon coupling constants dependent on the scalar σ field, studied previously to incorporate ∆(1232) baryons. Available empirical information is analyzed to put constraints on the couplings of ∆s with meson fields. Conditions for the appearance of ∆s are studied. We demonstrate that with inclusion of the ∆s our equations of state continue to fulfill majority of known empirical constraints including the pressure-density constraint from heavy-ion collisions, the constraint on the maximum mass of the neutron stars, the direct Urca and the gravitational-baryon mass ratio constraints.

An equation of state of cold nuclear matter with an arbitrary isotopic composition is studied within a relativistic mean-field approach with hadron masses and coupling constants depending self-consistently on the scalar mean-field. All hadron masses decrease universally with the scalar field growth, whereas meson-nucleon coupling constants can vary differently. More specifically we focus on two modifications of the KVOR model studied previously. One extension of the model (KVORcut) demonstrates that the equation of state stiffens if the increase of the scalar-field magnitude with the density is bounded from above at some value for baryon densities above the saturation nuclear density. This can be realized if the nucleon vector-meson coupling constant changes rapidly as a function of the scalar field slightly above the desired value. The other version of the model (MKVOR) utilizes a smaller value of the nucleon effective mass at the nuclear saturation density and a saturation of the scalar field in the isospin asymmetric matter induced by a strong variation of the nucleon isovector-meson coupling constant as function of the scalar field. A possibility of hyperonization of the matter in neutron star interiors is incorporated. Our equations of state fulfill majority of known empirical constraints including the pressure-density constraint from heavy-ion collisions, direct Urca constraint, gravitational-baryon mass constraint for the pulsar J0737-3039B, and the constraint on the maximum mass of the neutron stars.

We investigate the robustness of third family solutions for hybrid compact stars with a quark matter core that correspond to the occurrence of high-mass twin stars against a softening of the phase transition by means of a construction that mimics the effects of pasta structures in the mixed phase. We consider a class of hybrid equations of state that exploits a relativistic mean-field model for the hadronic as well as for the quark matter phase. We present parametrizations that correspond to branches of high-mass twin star pairs with maximum masses between 2.05 M and 1.48 M having radius differences between 3.2 and 1.5 km, respectively. When compared to a Maxwell construction with a fixed value of critical pressure Pc, the effect of the mixed phase construction consists in the occurrence of a region of pressures around Pc belonging to the coexistence of hadronic and quark matter phases between the onset pressure at PH and the end of the transition at PQ. The maximum broadening which would still allow mass twin compact stars is found to be (PQ − PH )max ≈ Pc for all parametrizations within the present class of models. At least the heavier of the neutron stars of the binary merger GW170817 could have been a member of the third family of hybrid stars. We present the example of another class of hybrid star equations of state for which the appearance of the third family branch is not as robust against mixed phase effects as that of the present work.PACS numbers: