Binary Neutron Stars

Coalescing neutron star binaries. Coalescing of neutron stars (or black holes) is foreseen to be the the most powerful source of detectable gw. The frequency of such events is estimated to be ly D/200 Mpc) and their amplitude will allow detection of sources as far as 50 Mpc. We are thus waiting for about one event every 60 years with the current sensitivity of detectors. 

The mass function, which is a pure combination of observables, is a lower limit to the possible mass of star 2 if the orbit is other than edge-on (that is, if % < 90°) or the observed star has mi > 0, then m2 > / Thus, observation of one star constrains the mass of the other star. Note, incidentally, that in a neutron star binary system with a high-mass companion (mi m2), / is low... 

Colpi, M., Wasserman, I. (2002), Formation of an evanescent proto-neutron star binary and the origin of pulsar kicks , ApJ 581, 1271. 

Figure 3. Coalescence of a corotating neutron star binary system (1.4 Mgeach star). Color-coded is the column density, the axes are in kilometers. The simulations are described in detail in Rosswog et al. 2002.

During the final few minutes before coalescence, the gravitational wave from a neutron star binary sweeps up in amplitude and frequency ( chirps ) through the HF band. When the binary system reaches a frequency of 1 kHz, the orbit will become unstable either due to the tidal interaction between the two stars or because of a dynamical instability of orbital motion in general relativity. At this stage, the details of the merger may depend on the internal properties and spins of the two neutron stars. 

Neutron stars. Neutron stars are compact Cns 0.3) relativistic objects. They can participate to the emission of gravitational waves following different mechanisms, either alone or in binary systems. 

Black holes. One great achievement of gravitational wave astronomy would be the first detection of a signal coming directly from a black hole. Just like with neutron stars, black holes can emit gw either alone or in binary systems. 

The site of the r-process is also not clear, but it seems that the conditions needed to reproduce Solar-System r-process abundances may hold in the hot bubble caused by neutrino winds in the immediate surroundings of a nascent neutron star in the early stages of a supernova explosion (see Fig. 6.10). Circumstantial evidence from Galactic chemical evolution supports an origin in low-mass Type II supernovae, maybe around 10 M (Mathews, Bazan Cowan 1992 Pagel Tautvaisiene 1995). Another possibility is the neutrino-driven wind from a neutron star formed by the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf in a binary system (Woosley Baron 1992) leading to a silent supernova (Nomoto 1986). In stars with extreme metal-deficiency, the heavy elements sometimes display an abundance pattern characteristic of the r-process with little or no contribution from the s-process, and the... 

Abstract From the earliest measurements of the masses of binary pulsars, observations of neutron stars have placed interesting constraints on the properties of high-density matter. The last few years have seen a number of observational developments that could place strong new restrictions on the equilibrium state of cold matter at supranuclear densities. We review these astronomical constraints and their context, and speculate on future prospects. 

However, it is impossible to isolate the matter in the core of a neutron star for detailed study. It is thus necessary to identify observable aspects of neutron stars that can be, in some sense, mapped to the equation of state of high-density material. In this review we discuss various constraints on the equation of state from astronomical observations. We focus on observations of accreting binary systems. 

If one of the stars in the binary is not a neutron star, then the tests become less precise. Suppose that one observes the optical light from the companion to a neutron star. In addition to the spectral information that allows measurement of P and i i, one also has photometric information (e.g., the total optical flux from the companion). The companion is distorted into a pear shape by the gravity of the neutron star, with the point towards the neutron star. Therefore, from the side there is more projected area and hence greater flux than from either end. If the orbit is edge-on (i = 90°) then the flux varies maximally if the orbit is face-on (i = 0°) then there is no variation. Therefore, by modeling the system one can estimate the inclination from the flux variations. This is called the method of ellipsoidal light curves (Avni Bahcall 1975). 

Davies, R.E., Pringle, J.E. (1981), Spindown of neutron stars in close binary systems - II , MNRAS 196, 209. 

Figure 4 The annihilation of neutrino-antineutrino pairs above the remnant of a neutron star merger drives relativistic jets along the original binary rotation axis (only upper half-plane is shown). The x-axis lies in the original binary orbital plane, the dark oval around the origin is the newly formed, probably unstable, supermassive neutron star formed in the coalescence. Color-coded is the asymptotic Lorentz-factor. Details can be found in Rosswog et al. 2003.

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