Revealing tensions in neutron star observations with pressure anisotropy

Pressure isotropy, i.e., radial pressure equal to tangential pressure, is often assumed when studying neutron stars. However, multiple physical mechanisms, including pion/kaon condensation, magnetic fields, superfluidity, dark matter clustering, and violations of general relativity, can lead to a pressure anisotropy. This work presents a comprehensive measurement of pressure anisotropy in neutron stars. Our analysis incorporates both an extensive set of nuclear experimental constraints and multi-messenger astrophysical observations, including gravitational wave detections and electromagnetic observations. The Bayesian framework employed marginalizes over equation of state uncertainties and allows the anisotropy to vary between individual neutron stars. We find the Bayes factor for anisotropy against isotropy is $e^{0.46}=10^{0.20}=1.58\gtrsim 3:2$. Additionally, the posterior indicates a population-wide preference for negative pressure anisotropy, with GW170817 serving as the primary contributor. The individual variability suggests density-scale-independent anisotropy, potentially attributable to magnetic fields, dark matter clustering, or deviations from general relativity rather than phase transitions. While the evidence for pressure anisotropy remains inconclusive, these results demonstrate that pressure anisotropy can be utilized as a valuable diagnostic tool for identifying missing physics in neutron star modeling or revealing tension among observations in the era of multi-messenger astronomy.