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We suggest a scenario where the three light quark flavors are sequentially deconfined under increasing pressure in cold asymmetric nuclear matter as found, e.g., in neutron stars. The basis for our analysis is a chiral quark matter model of Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) type with diquark pairing in the spin-1 single flavor (CSL), spin-0 two flavor (2SC) and three flavor (CFL) channels. We find that nucleon dissociation sets in at about the saturation density, n_0, when the down-quark Fermi sea is populated (d-quark dripline) due to the flavor asymmetry induced by beta-equilibrium and charge neutrality. At about 3n_0 u-quarks appear and a two-flavor color superconducting (2SC) phase is formed. The s-quark Fermi sea is populated only at still higher baryon density, when the quark chemical potential is of the order of the dynamically generated strange quark mass. We construct two different hybrid equations of state (EoS) using the Dirac-Brueckner Hartree-Fock (DBHF) approach and the EoS by Shen et al. in the nuclear matter sector. The corresponding hybrid star sequences have maximum masses of, respectively, 2.1 and 2.0 M_sun. Two- and three-flavor quark-matter phases exist only in gravitationally unstable hybrid star solutions in the DBHF case, while the Shen-based EoS produce stable configurations with a 2SC phase-component in the core of massive stars. Nucleon dissociation via d-quark drip could act as a deep crustal heating process, which apparently is required to explain superbusts and cooling of X-ray transients., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 1 figure removed, section IV revised, references added

We discuss possible ways to observationally detect the superdense cosmic objects composed of hypothetical sub-constituent fermions beneath the quark/lepton level, recently proposed by us. The characteristic mass and size of such objects depend on the compositeness scale, and their huge density cannot arise within a context of quarks and leptons alone. Their eventual observation would therefore be a direct vindication of physics beyond the standard model of particle physics, possibly far beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in a relatively simple and inexpensive manner. If relic objects of this type exist, they can possibly be detected by present and future x-ray observatories, high-frequency gravitational wave detectors, and seismological detectors. To have a realistic detection rate, i.e., to be observable, they must necessarily constitute a significant fraction of cold dark matter., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Added one reference [24]. Reformulated the discussion at the end of Section II. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study the effect of neutrino trapping in new-born quark stars within a three-flavor Nambu - Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model with self-consistently calculated quark masses. The phase diagrams and equations of state for charge neutral quark matter in beta-equilibrium are presented, with and without trapped neutrinos. The compact star sequences for different neutrino untrapping scenarios are investigated and the energy release due to neutrino untrapping is found to be of the order of 10^53 erg. We find that hot quark stars characterized, e.g., by an entropy per baryon of 1-2 and a lepton fraction of 0.4, as models for the cores of newborn protoneutron stars, are in the two-flavor color superconducting (2SC) state. High temperatures and/or neutrino chemical potentials disfavor configurations with a color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase. Stable quark star solutions with CFL cores exist only at low temperatures and neutrino chemical potentials., Comment: 18 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D. Updated references and acknowledgements

In the context of the standard model of particle physics, there is a definite upper limit to the density of stable compact stars. However, if a more fundamental level of elementary particles exists, in the form of preons, stability may be re-established beyond this limiting density. We show that a degenerate gas of interacting fermionic preons does allow for stable compact stars, with densities far beyond that in neutron stars and quark stars. In keeping with tradition, we call these objects "preon stars", even though they are small and light compared to white dwarfs and neutron stars. We briefly note the potential importance of preon stars in astrophysics, e.g., as a candidate for cold dark matter and sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, and a means for observing them., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures

In the context of the standard model of particle physics, there is a definite upper limit to the density of stable compact stars. However, if there is a deeper layer of constituents, below that of quarks and leptons, stability may be re-established far beyond this limiting density and a new class of compact stars could exist. These objects would cause gravitational lensing of white dwarfs and gamma-ray bursts, which might be observable as a diffraction pattern in the spectrum. Such observations could provide means for obtaining new clues about the fundamental particles and the origin of cold dark matter., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, contribution to the 42nd course of the international school of subnuclear physics, 'How and where to go beyond the standard model', Erice, Aug. 29 - Sep. 7, 2004