arXiv subjects

S. Bonazzola

Publications and source records attributed to S. Bonazzola.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv1996

On gravitational waves emitted by an ensemble of rotating neutron stars

We study the possibility to detect the gravitational wave background generated by all the neutron stars in the Galaxy with only one gravitational wave interferometric detector. The proposed strategy consists in squaring the detector's output and searching for a sidereal modulation. The shape of the squared signal is computed for a disk and a halo distribution of neutron stars. The required noise stability of the interferometric detector is discussed. We argue that a possible population of old neutron stars, originating from a high stellar formation rate at the birth of the Galaxy and not emitting as radio pulsars, could be detected by the proposed technique in the low frequency range of interferometric experiments.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

Triaxial neutron stars -- a possible source of gravitational radiation

Triaxial neutron stars may be important sources of gravitational radiation for the forthcoming generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors such as LIGO, VIRGO, and GEO600. We investigate the viscosity triggered bar mode secular instability of rapidly rotating neutron stars by means of a perturbation analysis of numerically constructed ``exact'' general relativistic axisymmetric star models. In the theoretical approach, only the dominant parts of the nonaxisymmetric terms of the 3D-Einstein equations are taken into account. A comparison of our results with previous studies of Newtonian polytropic stars confirms James' classical result gamma_crit=2.238 for the critical polytropic index. Beyond the Newtonian regime, gamma_crit reveals a slight increase toward highly relativistic configurations. Six out of twelve employed realistic dense matter equations of state admit the spontaneous symmetry breaking for masses above 1.6 M_sol.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

Gravitational waves from accreting neutron stars

We show that accreting neutron stars in binary systems or in Landau-Thorne-Zytkow objects are good candidates for continuous gravitational wave emission. Their gravitational radiation is strong enough to be detected by the next generation of detectors having a typical noise of 10^{-23} Hz^{-1/2}.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

Gravitational waves from neutron stars

Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Spontaneous symmetry breaking 2.1 Review of classical results about Maclaurin/Jacobi ellipsoids 2.2 Spontaneous breaking of symmetry: a general phenomenom 2.3 Previous results for compressible Newtonian stars 2.4 Generation of gravitational waves 2.5 Finding the equilibrium configurations of a rotating star in the Newtonian regime 2.6 Extension to general relativity 2.7 First integral of fluid motion in general relativity 2.8 Gravitational field equations 2.9 Numerical results 3. CW emission from pulsars 4. Discussion and conclusion Appendix: Relativistic hydrodynamics in an accelerated frame

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

Ferromagnetism of dense matter and magnetic properties of neutron stars

Possible consequences of ferromagnetic transition in dense matter suggested recently by Kutschera and W{ó}jcik, for the magnetic properties of neutron stars, are studied. Specific model of dense matter, in which a small admixture of protons is completely polarized due to their interaction with neutrons, is considered. Magnetic field of neutron stars with a ferromagnetic core is calculated within the framework of general relativity. Two types of boundary conditions at the ferromagnetic core edge are considered, corresponding to normal and superconducting liquid envelope, respectively. Numerical results for the neutron star magnetic dipole moment are confronted with pulsar timing. To be consistent with observations, ferromagnetic cores surrounded by a non-superconducting envelope, should consist of weakly ordered ferromagnetic domains. If domains are highly ordered, ferromagnetic core should be screened by a superconducting envelope.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

Gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars

Continuous wave gravitational radiation from isolated rotating neutron stars is discussed. The general waveform and orders of magnitude for the amplitude are presented for various known pulsars. The specific case of gravitational radiation resulting from the distortion induced by the stellar magnetic field is presented. Finally some preliminary results about the signal from the whole population of neutron stars in the Galaxy are discussed.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

Spectral methods in general relativity -- toward the simulation of 3D-gravitational collapse of neutron stars

Several applications of spectral methods to problems related to the relativistic astrophysics of compact objects are presented. Based on a proper definition of the analytical properties of regular tensorial functions we have developed a spectral method in a general sphericallike coordinate system. The applications include the investigation of spherically symmetric neutron star collapse as well as the solution of the coupled 2D-Einstein-Maxwell equations for magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron stars. In both cases the resulting codes are efficient and give results typically several orders of magnitude more accurate than equivalent codes based on finite difference schemes. We further report the current status of a 3D-code aiming at the simulation of non-axisymmetric neutron star collapse where we have chosen a tensor based numerical scheme.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1996

Gravitational waves from pulsars: emission by the magnetic field induced distortion

The gravitational wave emission by a distorted rotating fluid star is computed. The distortion is supposed to be symmetric around some axis inclined with respect to the rotation axis. In the general case, the gravitational radiation is emitted at two frequencies: $Ω$ and $2Ω$, where $Ω$ is the rotation frequency. The obtained formulæ are applied to the specific case of a neutron star distorted by its own magnetic field. Assuming that the period derivative $\dot P$ of pulsars is a measure of their magnetic dipole moment, the gravitational wave amplitude can be related to the observable parameters $P$ and $\dot P$ and to a factor $β$ which measures the efficiency of a given magnetic dipole moment in distorting the star. $β$ depends on the nuclear matter equation of state and on the magnetic field distribution. The amplitude at the frequency $2Ω$, expressed in terms of $P$, $\dot P$ and $β$, is independent of the angle $α$ between the magnetic axis and the rotation axis, whereas at the frequency $Ω$, the amplitude increases as $α$ decreases. The value of $β$ for specific models of magnetic field distributions has been computed by means of a numerical code giving self-consistent models of magnetized neutron stars within general relativity. It is found that the distortion at fixed magnetic dipole moment is very dependent of the magnetic field distribution; a stochastic magnetic field or a superconductor stellar interior greatly increases $β$ with respect to the uniformly magnetized perfect conductor case and might lead to gravitational waves detectable by the VIRGO or LIGO interferometers. The amplitude modulation of the signal induced by the daily rotation of the Earth has been computed and specified to the case of the Crab pulsar and VIRGO

astro-ph↗

arXiv1995

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking of Rapidly Rotating Stars in General Relativity

We investigate the effects of general relativity upon the non-axisymmetric ``bar'' mode secular instability of rapidly rotating stars, i.e. the relativistic and compressible analog of the transition from Maclaurin spheroids to Jacobi ellipsoids. Our method consists in perturbing a stationary axisymmetric configuration, constructed by a 2-D general relativistic numerical code, and taking into account only the dominant terms in the non-axisymmetric part of the 3-D relativistic equations. For a polytropic equation of state, we have determined, as a function of the degree of relativity, the critical adiabatic index $γ_{\rm crit}$ above which rapidly rotating stars can break their axial symmetry. A by-product of the present study is the confirmation of the Newtonian value $γ_{\rm crit} = 2.238$ obtained by James (1964). We have also considered neutron star models contructed upon twelve nuclear matter equations of state taken from the literature. We found that five equations of state from this sample allow the symmetry breaking for sufficiently high rotation velocities. For the others, the Keplerian velocity (mass-shedding from the equator) is reached before the axisymmetry is broken. Rotating neutron stars that break their axial symmetry can be an important source of gravitational waves for the LIGO/VIRGO interferometric detectors.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1995

Numerical study of the tidal interaction of a star and a massive black hole

We present a formalism well adapted to the numerical study of the encounter of an ordinary main sequence star with a massive black hole. Symmetry considerations, the use of a well adapted moving grid and a well adapted moving frame along with integration of the partial differential equations by means of pseudo-spectral methods result in a very powerful and accurate tool. The hydrodynamical equations are written in a moving frame which mimics the bulk of the movement of the fluid, resulting in very small relative velocities and a well suited spatial resolution throughout the calculations. Therefore, the numerical calculations are considerably simplified, smoothing in particular the Courant condition. Typical runs are performed within a few hours on a workstation with the high accuracy linked to the spectral methods. Predictions of the so-called affine are tested against this full numerical simulation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1995

ROTATING NEUTRON STAR MODELS WITH MAGNETIC FIELD

We present the first numerical solutions of the coupled Einstein-Maxwell equations describing rapidly rotating neutron stars endowed with a magnetic field. These solutions are fully relativistic and self-consistent, all the effects of the electromagnetic field on the star's equilibrium (Lorentz force, spacetime curvature generated by the electromagnetic stress-energy) being taken into account. The magnetic field is axisymmetric and poloidal. Five dense matter equations of state are employed. The partial differential equation system is integrated by means of a pseudo-spectral method. Various tests passed by the numerical code are presented. The effects of the magnetic field on neutron stars structure are then investigated, especially by comparing magnetized and non-magnetized configurations with the same baryon number. The deformation of the star induced by the magnetic field is important only for huge values of B (B>10^{10} T). The maximum mass as well as the maximum rotational velocity are found to increase with the magnetic field. The maximum allowable poloidal magnetic field is of the order of 10^{14} T (10^{18} G) and is reached when the magnetic pressure is comparable to the fluid pressure at the centre of the star. For such values, the maximum mass of neutron stars is found to increase by 13 to 29 % (depending upon the EOS) with respect to the maximum mass of non-magnetized stars.

gr-qc↗