We study non-radial oscillations of neutron stars with superfluid baryons, in a general relativistic framework, including finite temperature effects. Using a perturbative approach, we derive the equations describing stellar oscillations, which we sol
ve by numerical integration, employing different models of nucleon superfluidity, and determining frequencies and gravitational damping times of the quasi-normal modes. As expected by previous results, we find two classes of modes, associated to superfluid and non-superfluid degrees of freedom, respectively. We study the temperature dependence of the modes, finding that at specific values of the temperature, the frequencies of the two classes of quasi-normal modes show avoided crossings, and their damping times become comparable. We also show that, when the temperature is not close to the avoided crossings, the frequencies of the modes can be accurately computed by neglecting the coupling between normal and superfluid degrees of freedom. Our results have potential implications on the gravitational wave emission from neutron stars.
Neutron stars are extremely relativistic objects which abound in our universe and yet are poorly understood, due to the high uncertainty on how matter behaves in the extreme conditions which prevail in the stellar core. It has recently been pointed o
ut that the moment of inertia I, the Love number lambda and the spin-induced quadrupole moment Q of an isolated neutron star, are related through functions which are practically independent of the equation of state. These surprising universal I-lambda-Q relations pave the way for a better understanding of neutron stars, most notably via gravitational-wave emission. Gravitational-wave observations will probe highly-dynamical binaries and it is important to understand whether the universality of the I-lambda-Q relations survives strong-field and finite-size effects. We apply a Post-Newtonian-Affine approach to model tidal deformations in compact binaries and show that the I-lambda relation depends on the inspiral frequency, but is insensitive to the equation of state. We provide a fit for the universal relation, which is valid up to a gravitational wave frequency of ~900 Hz and accurate to within a few percent. Our results strengthen the universality of I-lambda-Q relations, and are relevant for gravitational-wave observations with advanced ground-based interferometers. We also discuss the possibility of using the Love-compactness relation to measure the neutron-star radius with an uncertainty of about 10% or smaller from gravitational-wave observations.
We study how the frequencies and damping times of oscillations of a newly born, hot proto-neutron star depend on the physical quantities which characterize the star quasi-stationary evolution which follows the bounce. Stellar configurations are model
ed using a microscopic equation of state obtained within the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock, nuclear many-body approach, extended to the finite-temperature regime. We discuss the mode frequency behaviour as function of the lepton composition, and of the entropy gradients which prevail in the interior of the star. We find that, in the very early stages, gravitational wave emission efficiently competes with neutrino processes in dissipating the star mechanical energy residual of the gravitational collapse.
