Measuring neutron-star distances and properties with gravitational-wave parallax
Measuring neutron-star distances and properties with gravitational-wave parallax
Gravitational-wave astronomy allows us to study objects and events invisible to electromagnetic waves. So far, only signals triggered by coalescing binaries have been detected. However, as the interferometers’ sensitivities improve over time, we expect to observe weaker signals in the future, e.g. emission of continuous gravitational waves from spinning, isolated neutron stars. Parallax is a well-known method, widely used in electromagnetic astronomical observations, to estimate the distance to a source. In this work, we consider the application of the parallax method to gravitational-wave searches and explore possible distance estimation errors. We show that detection of parallax in the signal from a spinning down source can constrain the neutron star moment of inertia. For instance, we found that the relative error of the moment of inertia estimation is smaller than 10 per cent for all sources closer than 300 pc, for the assumed birth frequency of 700 Hz, ellipticity ≥10
-7, and for 2 yr of observations by the Einstein Telescope, assuming spin-down due purely to quadrupolar gravitational radiation.
astro-ph.HE, gr-qc, stars: distances, gravitational waves, stars: neutron
1924–1930
Sieniawska, Magdalena
0cc8b88e-53d2-4053-94fd-61f2f0149afb
Jones, David Ian
b8f3e32c-d537-445a-a1e4-7436f472e160
Miller, Andrew Lawrence
dab427dd-2c25-4288-bbf6-aa5f08267c5a
1 May 2023
Sieniawska, Magdalena
0cc8b88e-53d2-4053-94fd-61f2f0149afb
Jones, David Ian
b8f3e32c-d537-445a-a1e4-7436f472e160
Miller, Andrew Lawrence
dab427dd-2c25-4288-bbf6-aa5f08267c5a
Sieniawska, Magdalena, Jones, David Ian and Miller, Andrew Lawrence
(2023)
Measuring neutron-star distances and properties with gravitational-wave parallax.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 521 (2), .
(doi:10.1093/mnras/stad624).
Abstract
Gravitational-wave astronomy allows us to study objects and events invisible to electromagnetic waves. So far, only signals triggered by coalescing binaries have been detected. However, as the interferometers’ sensitivities improve over time, we expect to observe weaker signals in the future, e.g. emission of continuous gravitational waves from spinning, isolated neutron stars. Parallax is a well-known method, widely used in electromagnetic astronomical observations, to estimate the distance to a source. In this work, we consider the application of the parallax method to gravitational-wave searches and explore possible distance estimation errors. We show that detection of parallax in the signal from a spinning down source can constrain the neutron star moment of inertia. For instance, we found that the relative error of the moment of inertia estimation is smaller than 10 per cent for all sources closer than 300 pc, for the assumed birth frequency of 700 Hz, ellipticity ≥10
-7, and for 2 yr of observations by the Einstein Telescope, assuming spin-down due purely to quadrupolar gravitational radiation.
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2212.07506v3
- Author's Original
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stad624
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Published date: 1 May 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This material is based upon work supported by the LIGO Laboratory which is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation. The authors gratefully acknowledge useful discussions with David Keitel and Rodrigo Tenorio, and also the comments of the anonymous referee. DIJ acknowledges support from the Science and Technologies Funding Council via grant number ST/R00045X/1. ALM is a beneficiary of a Fonds Spéciaux de Recherche Incoming Post-doctoral Fellowship.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s).
Keywords:
astro-ph.HE, gr-qc, stars: distances, gravitational waves, stars: neutron
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 477152
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/477152
ISSN: 1365-2966
PURE UUID: 3a967c70-fb69-4be1-a84e-4d067bb60efe
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Date deposited: 30 May 2023 16:40
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:48
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Author:
Magdalena Sieniawska
Author:
Andrew Lawrence Miller
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