Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes
Gravitational waves from neutron star–black hole (NSBH) mergers that undergo tidal disruption provide a potential avenue to study the equation of state of neutron stars and hence the behavior of matter at its most extreme densities. We present a phenomenological model for the gravitational-wave sign...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd33b |
| _version_ | 1797696986509475840 |
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| author | Teagan A. Clarke Lani Chastain Paul D. Lasky Eric Thrane |
| author_facet | Teagan A. Clarke Lani Chastain Paul D. Lasky Eric Thrane |
| author_sort | Teagan A. Clarke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gravitational waves from neutron star–black hole (NSBH) mergers that undergo tidal disruption provide a potential avenue to study the equation of state of neutron stars and hence the behavior of matter at its most extreme densities. We present a phenomenological model for the gravitational-wave signature of tidal disruption, which allows us to measure the disruption time. We carry out a study with mock data, assuming an optimistically nearby NSBH event with parameters tuned for measuring the tidal disruption. We show that a two-detector network of 40 km Cosmic Explorer instruments can measure the time of disruption with a precision of ≈0.5 ms, which corresponds to a constraint on the neutron star radius of ≈0.7 km (90% credibility). This radius constraint is wider than the constraint obtained by measuring the tidal deformability of the neutron star of the same system during the inspiral. Moreover, the neutron star radius is likely to be more tightly constrained using binary neutron star mergers. While NSBH mergers are important for the information they provide about stellar and binary astrophysics, they are unlikely to provide insights into nuclear physics beyond what we will already know from binary neutron star mergers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:33:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-877bc6cb0d2b432485806e0f2f3b650d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:33:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-877bc6cb0d2b432485806e0f2f3b650d2023-09-03T13:21:31ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019491L610.3847/2041-8213/acd33bNuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black HolesTeagan A. Clarke0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6714-5429Lani Chastain1Paul D. Lasky2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3763-1386Eric Thrane3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4418-3895School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University , VIC 3800, Australia ; teagan.clarke@monash.edu; OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational-wave Discovery, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University of North Georgia , GA 30597, USASchool of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University , VIC 3800, Australia ; teagan.clarke@monash.edu; OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational-wave Discovery, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaSchool of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University , VIC 3800, Australia ; teagan.clarke@monash.edu; OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational-wave Discovery, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaGravitational waves from neutron star–black hole (NSBH) mergers that undergo tidal disruption provide a potential avenue to study the equation of state of neutron stars and hence the behavior of matter at its most extreme densities. We present a phenomenological model for the gravitational-wave signature of tidal disruption, which allows us to measure the disruption time. We carry out a study with mock data, assuming an optimistically nearby NSBH event with parameters tuned for measuring the tidal disruption. We show that a two-detector network of 40 km Cosmic Explorer instruments can measure the time of disruption with a precision of ≈0.5 ms, which corresponds to a constraint on the neutron star radius of ≈0.7 km (90% credibility). This radius constraint is wider than the constraint obtained by measuring the tidal deformability of the neutron star of the same system during the inspiral. Moreover, the neutron star radius is likely to be more tightly constrained using binary neutron star mergers. While NSBH mergers are important for the information they provide about stellar and binary astrophysics, they are unlikely to provide insights into nuclear physics beyond what we will already know from binary neutron star mergers.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd33bGravitational wavesNuclear astrophysics |
| spellingShingle | Teagan A. Clarke Lani Chastain Paul D. Lasky Eric Thrane Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes The Astrophysical Journal Letters Gravitational waves Nuclear astrophysics |
| title | Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes |
| title_full | Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes |
| title_fullStr | Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes |
| title_short | Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Disrupted by Black Holes |
| title_sort | nuclear physics with gravitational waves from neutron stars disrupted by black holes |
| topic | Gravitational waves Nuclear astrophysics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd33b |
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