(1) This review has been written in memory of Steven Moszkowski who unexpectedly passed away in December 2020. It has been inspired by our many years of discussions. Steven’s enthusiasm, drive and determination to understand atomic nuclei in simple terms of basic laws of physics was infectious. He sought the fundamental origin of nuclear forces in free space, and their saturation and modification in nuclear medium. His untimely departure left our job unfinished but his legacy lives on. (2) Focusing on the nuclear force acting in nuclear matter of astrophysical interest and its equation of state (EoS), we take several typical snapshots of evolution of the theory of nuclear forces. We start from original ideas in the 1930s moving through to its overwhelming diversity today. The development is supported by modern observational and terrestrial data and their inference in the multimessenger era, as well as by novel mathematical techniques and computer power. (3) We find that, despite the admirable effort both in theory and measurement, we are facing multiple models dependent on a large number of variable correlated parameters which cannot be constrained by data, which are not yet accurate, nor sensitive enough, to identify the theory closest to reality. The role of microphysics in the theories is severely limited or neglected, mostly deemed to be too difficult to tackle. (4) Taking the EoS of high-density matter as an example, we propose to develop models, based, as much as currently possible, on the microphysics of the nuclear force, with a minimal set of parameters, chosen under clear physical guidance. Still somewhat phenomenological, such models could pave the way to realistic predictions, not tracing the measurement, but leading it.

中文翻译：

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高密度物质状态方程的核物理和天体物理学约束

(1) 这篇评论是为纪念于 2020 年 12 月意外去世的 Steven Moszkowski 而写的。它受到我们多年讨论的启发。史蒂文用简单的物理基本定律来理解原子核的热情、动力和决心具有感染力。他寻找自由空间中核力的基本起源，以及它们在核介质中的饱和和变化。他的过早离开使我们的工作未完成，但他的遗产仍在继续。(2) 关注作用于天体物理学感兴趣的核物质中的核力及其状态方程 (EoS)，我们拍摄了核力理论演变的几个典型快照。我们从 1930 年代的原创想法开始，一直到今天的多样性。这一发展得到了现代观测和地面数据及其在多信使时代的推断，以及新颖的数学技术和计算机能力的支持。(3) 我们发现，尽管在理论和测量方面都做出了令人钦佩的努力，但我们面临着依赖于大量可变相关参数的多个模型，这些参数不受数据的约束，这些模型还不够准确，也不够敏感，无法识别最接近现实的理论。微观物理学在理论中的作用受到严重限制或被忽视，大多被认为太难解决。(4) 以高密度物质的 EoS 为例，我们建议开发模型，尽可能多地基于核力的微观物理学，在明确的物理指导下选择最少的参数集。