Mark Alford, Washington University at Saint Louis

"How important is bulk viscosity in neutron star mergers?"

Abstract: Neutron star mergers are laboratories for hot and dense nuclear matter in which there are large changes of temperature and density that happen in milliseconds. This means that mergers can probe dynamical properties that may help us to uncover exotic phases. I will describe one of these properties, the bulk viscosity. I will explain how bulk viscosity arises and I show how to estimate its importance in neutron star mergers.