Gravitational waves from low mass neutron stars

Journal Article · Sat May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.81.103001· OSTI ID:21409685

Horowitz, C J ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics and Nuclear Theory Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 (United States)

Low mass neutron stars may be uniquely strong sources of gravitational waves. The neutron star crust can support large deformations for low mass stars. This is because of the star's weaker gravity. We find maximum ellipticities {epsilon} (fractional difference in moments of inertia) that are 1000 times larger, and maximum quadrupole moments Q{sub 22} over 100 times larger, for low mass stars than for 1.4M{sub {center_dot}}neutron stars. Indeed, we calculate that the crust can support an {epsilon} as large as 0.005 for a minimum mass neutron star. A 0.12M{sub {center_dot}}star, that is maximally strained and rotating at 100 Hz, will produce a characteristic gravitational wave strain of h{sub 0}=2.1x10{sup -24} at a distance of 1 kpc. The gravitational wave detector Advanced LIGO should be sensitive to such objects through out the Milky Way Galaxy. A low mass neutron star could be uniquely identified from a large observed spin down rate and its discovery would have important implications for general relativity, supernova mechanisms, and possibly nucleosynthesis.

• OSTI ID: 21409685
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 81, Issue 10; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.81.103001; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
DEFORMATION
DISTANCE
GENERAL RELATIVITY THEORY
GRAVITATION
GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS
GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
MASS
MILKY WAY
MOMENT OF INERTIA
NEUTRON STARS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
QUADRUPOLE MOMENTS
SPIN
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
FIELD THEORIES
GALAXIES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
RADIATION DETECTORS
RELATIVITY THEORY
STARS
SYNTHESIS