CaltechAUTHORS
Published May 15, 2019 | Version Published + Accepted Version
Journal Article Open

Exploring the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors to neutron star physics

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Birmingham
  • 2. ROR icon Perimeter Institute
  • 3. ROR icon University of Guelph
  • 4. ROR icon Monash University
  • 5. ROR icon ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
  • 6. ROR icon Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory
  • 7. ROR icon GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research
  • 8. ROR icon Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies
  • 9. ROR icon Louisiana State University
  • 10. ROR icon Cardiff University
  • 11. ROR icon Columbia University
  • 12. ROR icon University of Western Australia

Abstract

The physics of neutron stars can be studied with gravitational waves emitted from coalescing binary systems. Tidal effects become significant during the last few orbits and can be visible in the gravitational wave spectrum above 500 Hz. After the merger, the neutron star remnant oscillates at frequencies above 1 kHz and can collapse into a black hole. Gravitational wave detectors with a sensitivity of ≃ 10^(−24) strain/√Hz at 2–4 kHz can observe these oscillations from a source which is approximately 100 Mpc away. The current observatories, such as LIGO and Virgo, are limited by shot noise at high frequencies and have a sensitivity of greater than or equal to 2 × 10^(−23) strain/√Hz at 3 kHz. In this paper, we propose an optical configuration of gravitational wave detectors, which can be set up in present facilities using the current interferometer topology. This scheme has the potential to reach 7 × 10^(−25) strain/√Hz at 2.5 kHz without compromising the detector sensitivity to black hole binaries. We argue that the proposed instruments have the potential to detect similar amount of postmerger neutron star oscillations as the next generation detectors, such as Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope. We also optimize the arm length of the future detectors for neutron star physics and find that the optimal arm length is ≈20 km. These instruments have the potential to observe neutron star postmerger oscillations at a rate of approximately 30 events per year with a signal-to-noise ratio of 5 or more.

Additional Information

© 2019 American Physical Society. (Received 15 January 2019; published 31 May 2019) We would like to thank members of the LSC AIC, MQM, and QN groups for fruitful discussions and Valery Frolov for reviewing the paper during the internal LIGO review. We acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation and the LIGO Laboratory. LIGO was constructed by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation and operates under cooperative Agreement No. PHY-0757058. D. M. and H. M. acknowledge the support of the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at University of Birmingham. H. M. is supported by UK STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship (Grant No. ST/M005844/11). H. Y. is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. This research was supported in part by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Research at Perimeter Institute is supported by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada and by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Research and Innovation. A. B. acknowledges support by the European Research Council under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant No. 759253 and the Klaus-Tschira Foundation. This work is supported through Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence CE170100004. E. T. is supported through ARC Future Fellowship FT150100281. P. D. L. is supported through ARC Future Fellowship No. FT160100112 and ARC Discovery Project No. DP180103155.

Attached Files

Published - PhysRevD.99.102004.pdf

Accepted Version - 1901.03885.pdf

Files

1901.03885.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
95965
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20190531-091629833

Related works

Describes
https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.03885 (URL)

Funding

LIGO Laboratory
NSF
PHY-0757058
University of Birmingham
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
ST/M005844/11
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Industry Canada
Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation
European Research Council (ERC)
759253
Klaus Tschira Foundation
Australian Research Council
CE170100004
Australian Research Council
FT150100281
Australian Research Council
FT160100112
Australian Research Council
DP180103155

Dates

Created
2019-05-31
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-16
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
LIGO , Astronomy Department , Physics Department