Dense QCD and phenomenology of compact stars

I discuss three topics in physics of massive (two solar-mass and larger) neutron stars containing deconfined quark matter: (i) the equation of state of deconfined dense quark matter and its color superconducting phases, (ii) the thermal evolution of stars with quark cores, (iii) color-magnetic flux tubes in type-II superconducting quark matter and their dynamics driven by Aharonov-Bohm interactions with unpaired fermions.