PIRSA:09090079 Scientific Series

DOI10.48660/09090079

Series: Strong Gravity

Friedman, J. (2009). Gravitational waves and the neutron-star equation of state. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/09090079

Friedman, John. Gravitational waves and the neutron-star equation of state. Perimeter Institute, Sep. 24, 2009, https://pirsa.org/09090079 

@misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:09090079,
  doi = {10.48660/09090079},
  url = {https://pirsa.org/09090079},
  author = {Friedman, John},
  keywords = {},
  language = {en},
  title = {Gravitational waves and the neutron-star equation of state},
  publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
  year = {2009},
  month = {sep},
  note = {PIRSA:09090079 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
}

Abstract

The uncertainty in the equation of state of cold matter above nuclear density is notorious. Despite four decades of neutron-star observations, recent observational estimates of neutron-star radii still range from 8 to 16 km; the pressure above nuclear density is not known to better than a factor of 5; and one cannot yet rule out the possibility that the ground state of cold matter at zero pressure might be strange quark matter -- that the term "neutron star" is a misnomer for strange quark stars. The last few orbits of binary inspiral are sensitive to the stars' distortion, and a major goal of the next generation of gravitational wave detectors is to extract parameters characterizing the high-density equation of state from inspiral waveforms. This talk reports a first study that uses numerical simulations to estimate the accuracy with which the equation of state can be measured.

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