For core-collapse and neutron star merger simulations, it is important to have adequate equations of state which describe dense and hot matter as realistically as possible. We present two newly constructed equations of state including the entire baryon octet, compatible with the main constraints coming from nuclear physics, both experimental and theoretical. One of the equations of state describes cold β-equilibrated neutron stars with a maximum mass of 2 Msun. Results obtained with the new equations of state are compared with the ones of DD2Y, the only existing equation of state containing the baryon octet and satisfying the above constraints. The main difference between our new equations of state and DD2Y is the harder symmetry energy of the latter. We show that the density dependence of the symmetry energy has a direct influence on the amount of strangeness inside hot and dense matter and, consequently, on thermodynamic quantities. We expect that these differences affect the evolution of a proto-neutron star or binary neutron star mergers. We propose also several parameterisations based on the DD2 and SFHo models calibrated to Lambda hypernuclei that satisfy the different constraints.

The low-frequency polarisation properties of radio sources are poorly studied, particularly in statistical samples. However, the new generation of low-frequency telescopes, such as the Murchison Widefield Array (the precursor for the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array) offers an opportunity to probe the physics of radio sources at very low radio frequencies. In this paper, we present a catalogue of linearly polarised sources detected at 216 MHz, using data from the Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array survey. Our catalogue covers the Declination range –17° to –37° and 24 h in Right Ascension, at a resolution of around 3 arcminutes. We detect 81 sources (including both a known pulsar and a new pulsar candidate) with linearly polarised flux densities in excess of 18 mJy across a survey area of approximately 6 400 deg2, corresponding to a surface density of 1 source per 79 deg2. The level of Faraday rotation measured for our sources is broadly consistent with those recovered at higher frequencies, with typically more than an order of magnitude improvement in the uncertainty compared to higher-frequency measurements. However, our catalogue is likely incomplete at low Faraday rotation measures, due to our practice of excluding sources in the region where instrumental leakage appears. The majority of sources exhibit significant depolarisation compared to higher frequencies; however, a small sub-sample repolarise at 216 MHz. We also discuss the polarisation properties of four nearby, large-angular-scale radio galaxies, with a particular focus on the giant radio galaxy ESO 422–G028, in order to explain the striking differences in polarised morphology between 216 MHz and 1.4 GHz.