2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/213204The equation of state for matter with energy density above 2 x10^14 g/cm^3 is parametrized by P = kN^Gamma, where N is the number density, Gamma is the adiabatic index, and k a constant. Using this scheme to generate thousands of models, together with data on neutron star masses, it is found, for a core region with a constant adiabatic index, that the central density must satisfy 10^15 gm/cm^3 < rho_c < 10^16 gm/cm^3, with Gamma > 2.2. Further preliminary results indicate, based on the observed neutrino flux from supernova 1987a, that this number must be considerably higher, on the order of 3.5. These results provide evidence for a hard equation of state in the cores of neutron stars.original figures and tables are no longer availableAstrophysicstext