Magnetic effects on fundamental modes in rotating neutron stars with a purely toroidal magnetic field

Abstract

Electromagnetic and gravitational-wave signals from neutron stars are shaped by rapid rotation and strong magnetic fields. Determining these properties is essential to interpret such signals, but current measurements are limited: rotation estimates rely on electromagnetic detections and assume uniform rotation, while inferring interior magnetic fields remains ambiguous due to a lack of direct observations. Measuring the excited fundamental modes of neutron stars in gravitational-wave signals offers a promising solution, as these modes encode information about stellar composition, structure, and dynamics. Previous studies have examined the individual effects of rotation and magnetic fields on these modes, identifying magnetic suppression and establishing linear relations for the frequencies of the fundamental $l=0$ quasi-radial mode $f_F$ and $l=2$ quadrupolar mode $f_{^2f}$. However, few have investigated the combined influence of rotation and magnetic fields. Here, for the first time, we consider both rotation and a toroidal magnetic field to construct linear relations for quantifying $f_F$ and $f_{^2f}$, showing that their combined effects can be constrained by detecting these modes. Using 2D axisymmetric simulations, we demonstrate that quasi-linear relations between $f_F$, $f_{^2f}$, stellar compactness $M/R$, and kinetic-to-binding energy ratio $T/|W|$ persist even with a toroidal magnetic field. The slope of these relations depends on the toroidal magnetization constant $K_\mathrm{m}$. Additionally, measuring the frequency ratio $f_{^2f}/f_F$ enables inference of $T/|W|$ and the maximum magnetic field strength $\mathcal{B}_\mathrm{max}$. Lastly, we show that differential rotation causes only minor deviations from predictions for uniform rotation. Thus, this work demonstrates that rotational and magnetic properties of neutron stars can be inferred from their fundamental modes.