Donutization Inside Neutron Stars: Shell-Localized Scalar Fields

Heavy scalar fields ($m_{\phi }\gtrsim {10}^{-9}$ eV) in scalar-tensor gravity are expected to be hidden from neutron-star observations because their Compton wavelength is sub-stellar. We show that neutron stars can nevertheless scalarize by forming a shell-localized profile, suppressed at their center and exterior but peaked in their interior. This \emph{donutization} reshapes the effective equation of state, making hadronic stars mimic quark-star mass-radius behavior or hybrid-star behavior with split stable branches, and breaks the $I$–$Q$ relation, while remaining hidden from binary pulsar observations.