Equilibrium Configurations for Quark-diquark Stars and the Problem of Her X-1 Mass

We report new calculations of the physical properties of a quark-diquark plasma. A vacuum contribution is taken into account and is responsible for the appearance of a stable state at zero pressure and at a baryon density of about 2.2 times the nuclear matter density in this model. The resulting equation of state was used to integrate numerically the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations. The mass-radius relationship has been derived from a series of equilibrium configurations constituted by a mixture of quarks and diquarks. These stellar models, which are representative of a whole class, may be helpful to understand the possible compactness of the X-ray source Her X-1 and related objects.