arXiv subjects

K. D. Kokkotas

Publications and source records attributed to K. D. Kokkotas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Neutron star mass-radius constraints using the high-frequency QPOs of GRB 200415A

Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in a giant flare of a strongly magnetized neutron star (magnetar), are carrying crucial information for extracting the neutron star properties. The aim of the study is to constrain the mass and radius of the neutron star model for GRB 200415A, by identifying the observed QPOs with the crustal torsional oscillations together with the experimental constraints on the nuclear matter properties. The frequencies of the crustal torsional oscillations are determined by solving the eigenvalue problem with the Cowling approximation, assuming a magnetic field of about $10^{15}$G. We find that the observed QPOs can be identified with several overtones of crustal oscillations, for carefully selected combinations of the nuclear saturation parameters. Thus, we can inversely constrain the neutron star mass and radius for GRB 200415A by comparing them to the values of nuclear saturation parameters obtained from terrestrial experiments. We impose further constraints on the neutron star mass and radius while the candidate neutron star models are consistent with the constraints obtained from other available astronomical and experimental observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Dynamics of Fast Rotating Neutron Stars: An Approach in the Hilbert Gauge

We describe a set of time evolution equations and its numerical implementation for the investigation of non-axisymmetric oscillations of rapidly rotating compact objects in full General Relativity, taking into account the contribution of a dynamic spacetime. We derive the perturbation equations for the spacetime in the Hilbert gauge, while the hydrodynamical evolution is based on perturbations of the energy-momentum tensor. In our numerical implementation, we use Kreiss-Oliger dissipation in order to achieve a stable time evolution. Our code features high accuracy at comparably low computational expense and we are able to extract the frequencies of non-axisymmetric modes of compact objects with rotation rates up to the Kepler limit.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Fast Rotating Relativistic Stars: Spectra and Stability without Approximation

We study oscillations and instabilities of relativistic stars using perturbation theory in general relativity and take into account the contribution of a dynamic spacetime. We present the oscillation spectrum as well as the critical values for the onset of the secular CFS instability of neutron stars, and propose universal relations for gravitational wave asteroseismology, which may help constrain the neutron star radius and/or the nuclear equation of state. The results are relevant for all stages during a neutron star's life but especially to nascent or remnant objects following a binary merger.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

An analytical approximation for the Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet black hole metric

We construct an analytical approximation for the numerical black hole metric of P. Kanti, et. al. [PRD54, 5049 (1996)] in the four-dimensional Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet (EdGB) theory. The continued fraction expansion in terms of a compactified radial coordinate, used here, converges slowly when the dilaton coupling approaches its extremal values, but for a black hole far from the extremal state, the analytical formula has a maximal relative error of a fraction of one percent already within the third order of the continued fraction expansion. The suggested analytical representation of the numerical black hole metric is relatively compact and good approximation in the whole space outside the black hole event horizon. Therefore, it can serve in the same way as an exact solution when analyzing particles' motion, perturbations, quasinormal modes, Hawking radiation, accreting disks and many other problems in the vicinity of a black hole. In addition, we construct the approximate analytical expression for the dilaton field.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Bifurcation of the quasinormal spectrum and Zero Damped Modes for rotating dilatonic black holes

It has been recently found that for the near extremal Kerr black holes appearing of Zero Damped Modes (accompanied by qusinormal mode branching) signifies about inapplicability of the regime of small perturbations and the onset of turbulence. Here we show that this phenomena is not limited by Kerr or Kerr-Newman solutions only, but also takes place for rotating dilatonic black holes for which we have found Zero Damped Modes both numerically and analytically. We have also shown that, contrary to recent claims, there is no instability of a charged massive scalar field in the background of the rotating dilatonic black hole under physically adequate boundary conditions. Analytic expression for dominant quasinormal frequencies is deduced in the regime of large coupling qQ, where q and Q are the field and black hole charges respectively.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Coupled polar-axial magnetar oscillations

We study coupled axial and polar axisymmetric oscillations of a neutron star endowed with a strong magnetic field, having both poloidal and toroidal components. The toroidal component of the magnetic field is driving the coupling between the polar and axial oscillations. The star is composed of a fluid core as well as a solid crust. Using a two dimensional general relativistic simulation and a magnetic field B = 10^16 G, we study the change in the polar and axial spectrum caused by the coupling. We find that the axial spectrum suffers a dramatic change in its nature, losing its continuum character. In fact, we find that only the 'edges' of the continua survive, generating a discrete spectrum. As a consequence the crustal frequencies, that in our previous simulation could be absorbed by the continua, if they were embedded inside it, are now long living oscillations. They may lose their energy only in the very special case that they are in resonance with the 'edges' of the continua.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Quasinormal modes, scattering and Hawking radiation of Kerr-Newman black holes in a magnetic field

We perform a comprehensive analysis of the spectrum of proper oscillations (quasinormal modes), transmission/reflection coefficients and Hawking radiation for a massive charged scalar field in the background of the Kerr-Newman black hole immersed in an asymptotically homogeneous magnetic field. There are two main effects: the Zeeman shift of the particle energy in the magnetic field and the difference of values of an electromagnetic potential between the horizon and infinity, i.e. the Faraday induction. We have shown that "turning on" the magnetic field induces a stronger energy-emission rate and leads to "recharging" of the black hole. Thus, a black hole immersed in a magnetic field evaporates much quicker, achieving thereby an extremal state in a shorter period of time. Quasinormal modes are moderately affected by the presence of a magnetic field which is assumed to be relatively small compared to the gravitational field of the black hole.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

Bayesian timing analysis of giant flare of SGR 1806-20 by RXTE PCA

By detecting high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) and estimating frequencies of them during the decaying tail of giant flares from Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) useful constraints for the equation of state (EoS) of superdense matter may be obtained via comparison with theoretical predictions of eigenfrequencies. We used the data collected by the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE/XTE) Proportional Counter Array (PCA) of a giant flare of SGR 1806-20 on 2004 Dec 27 and applied a Bayesian periodicity detection method (Gregory & Loredo, 1992) for the search of oscillations of transient nature. In addition to the already detected frequencies, we found a few new frequencies (f_{QPOs} ~ 16.9, 21.4, 36.4, 59.0, 116.3 Hz) of oscillations predicted by Colaiuda et al. (2009) based on the APR_{14} EoS (Akmal et al., 1998) for SGR 1806-20.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Gravitational waves from neutron stars: Promises and challenges

We discuss different ways that neutron stars can generate gravitational waves, describe recent improvements in modelling the relevant scenarios in the context of improving detector sensitivity, and show how observations are beginning to test our understanding of fundamental physics. The main purpose of the discussion is to establish promising science goals for third-generation ground-based detectors, like the Einstein Telescope, and identify the various challenges that need to be met if we want to use gravitational-wave data to probe neutron star physics.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Alfvén Polar Oscillations of Relativistic Stars

We study polar Alfvén oscillations of relativistic stars endowed with a strong global poloidal dipole magnetic field. Here we focus only on the axisymmetric oscillations which are studied by evolving numerically the two-dimensional perturbation equations. Our study shows that the spectrum of the polar Alfvén oscillations is discrete in contrast to the spectrum of axial Alfvén oscillations which is continuous. We also show that the typical fluid modes, such as the f and p modes, are not significantly affected by the presence of the strong magnetic field.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

On the Quasi-Periodic Oscillations of Magnetars

We study torsional Alfvén oscillations of magnetars, i.e., neutron stars with a strong magnetic field. We consider the poloidal and toroidal components of the magnetic field and a wide range of equilibrium stellar models. We use a new coordinate system (X,Y), where $X=\sqrt{a_1} \sin θ$, $Y=\sqrt{a_1}\cos θ$ and $a_1$ is the radial component of the magnetic field. In this coordinate system, the 1+2-dimensional evolution equation describing the quasi-periodic oscillations, QPOs, see Sotani et al. (2007), is reduced to a 1+1-dimensional equation, where the perturbations propagate only along the Y-axis. We solve the 1+1-dimensional equation for different boundary conditions and open magnetic field lines, i.e., magnetic field lines that reach the surface and there match up with the exterior dipole magnetic field, as well as closed magnetic lines, i.e., magnetic lines that never reach the stellar surface. For the open field lines, we find two families of QPOs frequencies; a family of "lower" QPOs frequencies which is located near the X-axis and a family of "upper" frequencies located near the Y-axis. According to Levin (2007), the fundamental frequencies of these two families can be interpreted as the turning points of a continuous spectrum. We find that the upper frequencies are constant multiples of the lower frequencies with a constant equaling 2n+1. For the closed lines, the corresponding factor is n+1 . By these relations, we can explain both the lower and the higher observed frequencies in SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

Constraints on the Magnetic Field Geometry of Magnetars

We study the effect of the magnetic field geometry on the oscillation spectra of strongly magnetized stars. The magnetic field distributions include both toroidal and poloidal contributions. We observe that the toroidal contribution does not influence significantly the torsional oscillations of the crust. Moreover, in the case that the core is a type I supercontactor and the magnetic fields are confined in the crust, the torsional oscillation spectrum is drastically affected by the presence of the strong magnetic fields. Comparison with results and estimations for the magnetic field strength, from observations, exclude the possibility that magnetars will have a magnetic field solely confined in the crust i.e. our results suggest that the magnetic field in whatever geometry has to permeate the whole star.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2007

Crustal Oscillations of Slowly Rotating Relativistic Stars

We study low-amplitude crustal oscillations of slowly rotating relativistic stars consisting of a central fluid core and an outer thin solid crust. We estimate the effect of rotation on the torsional toroidal modes and on the interfacial and shear spheroidal modes. The results compared against the Newtonian ones for wide range of neutron star models and equations of state.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2007

Analytic approximations, perturbation methods, and their applications

The paper summarizes the parallel session B3 {\em Analytic approximations, perturbation methods, and their applications} of the GR18 conference. The talks in the session reported notably recent advances in black hole perturbations and post-Newtonian approximations as applied to sources of gravitational waves.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2007

Torsional Oscillations of Relativistic Stars with Dipole Magnetic Fields

We present the formalism and numerical results for torsional oscillations of relativistic stars endowed with a strong dipole magnetic field. We do a systematic search of parameter space by computing torsional mode frequencies for various values of the harmonic index $\ell$ and for various overtones, using an extended sample of models of compact stars, varying in mass, high-density equation of state and crust model. We show that torsional mode frequencies are sensitive to the crust model if the high-density equation of state is very stiff. In addition, torsional mode frequencies are drastically affected by a dipole magnetic field, if the latter has a strength exceeding roughly $10^{15}$G and we find that the magnetic field effects are sensitive to the adopted crust model. Using our extended numerical results we derive empirical relations for the effect of the magnetic field on torsional modes as well as for the crust thickness. We compare our numerical results to observed frequencies in SGRs and find that certain high-density EoS and mass values are favored over others in the non-magnetized limit. On the other hand, if the magnetic field is strong, then its effect has to be taken into account in attempts to formulate a theory of asteroseismology for magnetars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Torsional Oscillations of Slowly Rotating Relativistic Stars

We study the effects of rotation on the torsional modes of oscillating relativistic stars with a solid crust. Earlier works in Newtonian theory provided estimates of the rotational corrections for the torsional modes and suggested that they should become CFS unstable, even for quite low rotation rates. In this work, we study the effect of rotation in the context of general relativity using elasticity theory and in the slow-rotation approximation. We find that the Newtonian picture does not change considerably. The inclusion of relativistic effects leads only to quantitative corrections. The degeneracy of modes for different values of $m$ is removed, and modes with $\ell=m$ are shifted towards zero frequencies and become secularly unstable at stellar rotational frequencies $\sim$ 20-30 Hz.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2006

Torsional Oscillations of Relativistic Stars with Dipole Magnetic Fields II. Global Alfvén Modes

We investigate torsional Alfvén modes of relativistic stars with a global dipole magnetic field. It has been noted recently (Glampedakis et al. 2006) that such oscillation modes could serve as as an alternative explanation (in contrast to torsional crustal modes) for the SGR phenomenon, if the magnetic field is not confined to the crust. We compute global Alfvén modes for a representative sample of equations of state and magnetar masses, in the ideal MHD approximation and ignoring $\ell \pm 2$ terms in the eigenfunction. We find that the presence of a realistic crust has a negligible effect on Alfvén modes for $B > 4\times 10^{15}$ G. Furthermore, we find strong avoided crossings between torsional Alfvén modes and torsional crust modes. For magnetar-like magnetic field strengths, the spacing between consecutive Alfvén modes is of the same order as the gap of avoided crossings. As a result, it is not possible to identify modes of predominantly crustal character and all oscillations are predominantly Alfvén-like. Interestingly, we find excellent agreement between our computed frequencies and observed frequencies in two SGRs, for a maximum magnetic field strenght in the range of (0.8--1.2)$\times 10^{16}$ G.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Quasinormal modes of Reissner-Nordström-anti-de Sitter black holes: scalar, electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations

We study scalar, electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations of a Reissner-Nordström-anti-de Sitter (RN-AdS) spacetime, and compute its quasinormal modes (QNM's). We confirm and extend results previously found for Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter (S-AdS) black holes. For ``large'' black holes, whose horizon is much larger than the AdS radius, different classes of perturbations are almost exactly {\it isospectral}; this isospectrality is broken when the black hole's horizon radius is comparable to the AdS radius. We provide very accurate fitting formulas for the QNM's, which are valid for black holes of any size and charge $Q<Q_{ext}/3$. Electromagnetic and axial perturbations of large black holes are characterized by the existence of pure-imaginary (purely damped) modes. The damping of these modes tends to infinity as the black hole charge approaches the extremal value; if the corresponding mode amplitude does not tend to zero in the same limit, this implies that {\it extremally charged RN-AdS black holes are marginally unstable}. This result is relevant in view of the AdS/CFT conjecture, since, according to it, the AdS QNM's give the timescales for approach to equilibrium in the corresponding conformal field theory.

gr-qc↗