Gravitational waves from neutron-star mountains

Fuente: arXiv
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Autore principale: Gittins, Fabian
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Gittins, Fabian
author_facet Gittins, Fabian
contents Rotating neutron stars that support long-lived, non-axisymmetric deformations known as mountains have long been considered potential sources of gravitational radiation. However, the amplitude from such a source is very weak and current gravitational-wave interferometers have yet to witness such a signal. The lack of detections has provided upper limits on the size of the involved deformations, which are continually being constrained. With expected improvements in detector sensitivities and analysis techniques, there is good reason to anticipate an observation in the future. This review concerns the current state of the theory of neutron-star mountains. These exotic objects host the extreme regimes of modern physics, which are related to how they sustain mountains. We summarise various mechanisms that may give rise to asymmetries, including crustal strains built up during the evolutionary history of the neutron star, the magnetic field distorting the star's shape and accretion episodes gradually constructing a mountain. Moving beyond the simple rotating model, we also discuss how precession affects the dynamics and modifies the gravitational-wave signal. We describe the prospects for detection and the challenges moving forward.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_01670
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gravitational waves from neutron-star mountains
Gittins, Fabian
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Rotating neutron stars that support long-lived, non-axisymmetric deformations known as mountains have long been considered potential sources of gravitational radiation. However, the amplitude from such a source is very weak and current gravitational-wave interferometers have yet to witness such a signal. The lack of detections has provided upper limits on the size of the involved deformations, which are continually being constrained. With expected improvements in detector sensitivities and analysis techniques, there is good reason to anticipate an observation in the future. This review concerns the current state of the theory of neutron-star mountains. These exotic objects host the extreme regimes of modern physics, which are related to how they sustain mountains. We summarise various mechanisms that may give rise to asymmetries, including crustal strains built up during the evolutionary history of the neutron star, the magnetic field distorting the star's shape and accretion episodes gradually constructing a mountain. Moving beyond the simple rotating model, we also discuss how precession affects the dynamics and modifies the gravitational-wave signal. We describe the prospects for detection and the challenges moving forward.
title Gravitational waves from neutron-star mountains
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.01670