No Arabic abstract
We introduce a classification scheme of the post-merger dynamics and gravitational-wave emission in binary neutron star mergers, after identifying a new mechanism by which a secondary peak in the gravitational-wave spectrum is produced. It is caused by a spiral deformation, the pattern of which rotates slower with respect to the double-core structure in center of the remnant. This secondary peak is typically well separated in frequency from the secondary peak produced by a nonlinear interaction between a quadrupole and a quasi-radial oscillation. The new mechanism allows for an explanation of low-frequency modulations seen in a number of physical characteristics of the remnant, such as the central lapse function, the maximum density and the separation between the two cores. We find empirical relations for both types of secondary peaks between their gravitational-wave frequency and the compactness of nonrotating individual neutron stars, that exist for fixed total binary masses. These findings are derived for equal-mass binaries without intrinsic neutron-star spin analyzing hydrodynamical simulations without magnetic field effects. Our classification scheme may form the basis for the construction of detailed gravitational-wave templates of the post-merger phase. We find that the quasi-radial oscillation frequency of the remnant decreases with the total binary mass. For a given merger event our classification scheme may allow to determine the proximity of the measured total binary mass to the threshold mass for prompt black hole formation, which can, in turn, yield an estimate of the maximum neutron-star mass.
We present a robust method to characterize the gravitational wave emission from the remnant of a neutron star coalescence. Our approach makes only minimal assumptions about the morphology of the signal and provides a full posterior probability distribution of the underlying waveform. We apply our method on simulated data from a network of advanced ground-based detectors and demonstrate the gravitational wave signal reconstruction. We study the reconstruction quality for different binary configurations and equations of state for the colliding neutron stars. We show how our method can be used to constrain the yet-uncertain equation of state of neutron star matter. The constraints on the equation of state we derive are complimentary to measurements of the tidal deformation of the colliding neutron stars during the late inspiral phase. In the case of a non-detection of a post-merger signal following a binary neutron star inspiral we show that we can place upper limits on the energy emitted.
The oscillations of a merger remnant forming after the coalescence of two neutron stars are very characteristic for the high-density equation of state. The dominant oscillation frequency occurs as a pronounced peak in the kHz range of the gravitational-wave spectrum. We describe how the dominant oscillation frequency of the remnant can be employed to infer the radii of non-rotating neutron stars.
Future generation of gravitational wave detectors will have the sensitivity to detect gravitational wave events at redshifts far beyond any detectable electromagnetic sources. We show that if the observed event rate is greater than one event per year at redshifts z > 40, then the probability distribution of primordial density fluctuations must be significantly non-Gaussian or the events originate from primordial black holes. The nature of the excess events can be determined from the redshift distribution of the merger rate.
Merging neutron stars offer an exquisite laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart EM170817 to gravitational waves (GW170817) detected from merging neutron stars. By synthesizing a panchromatic dataset, we demonstrate that merging neutron stars are a long-sought production site forging heavy elements by r-process nucleosynthesis. The weak gamma-rays seen in EM170817 are dissimilar to classical short gamma-ray bursts with ultra-relativistic jets. Instead, we suggest that breakout of a wide-angle, mildly-relativistic cocoon engulfing the jet elegantly explains the low-luminosity gamma-rays, the high-luminosity ultraviolet-optical-infrared and the delayed radio/X-ray emission. We posit that all merging neutron stars may lead to a wide-angle cocoon breakout; sometimes accompanied by a successful jet and sometimes a choked jet.