ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the description of electrically charge neutral quark-star matter in equilibrium with respect to the weak interactions at zero as well as finite external pressure and non-zero temperature. The behavior of the electrostatic potential of the electrons inside and in the close vicinity outside of strange stars is determined and its temperature dependence studied. The chapter discusses the thickness, mass, and moment of inertia of the nuclear crust carried by strange-quark-matter stars as a function of mass and rotational frequency of the star. As for neutron stars, the shortest rotational periods are attained by the limiting-mass stars, which is a consequence of their relatively small radii and the core’s strong gravitational attraction. Larger bag constants generally enable quark stars to spin more rapidly, the reason being the somewhat higher mass densities in such stars, which makes them more compact than quark stars constructed for smaller bag constants.
