quarkyonic
Quarkyonic is a theoretical phase of hadronic matter. It is hypothesized to exist at extremely high densities and low temperatures, conditions not found in the observable universe but potentially present in the cores of neutron stars or in the early universe. The concept of quarkyonic matter arises from the understanding that at high densities, nuclear matter, which is composed of nucleons (protons and neutrons), may transition into a state where the quarks and gluons that make up these nucleons are deconfined and behave more like a free gas.
However, quarkyonic matter is distinct from a simple quark-gluon plasma, which is expected at very high temperatures.
The term "quarkyonic" itself suggests a hybrid nature, combining aspects of both "quark" matter and "nucleonic"