Gravity wave signals from relativistic calculations of binary neutron star coalescence

This thesis describes the design, testing, and implementation of a Lagrangian, post-Newtonian, smoothed particle hydrodynamics code used to study the gravitational wave signature produced by coalescing neutron star binary systems. Additionally, we have studied the properties of remnants which may be formed during the merger process. We have introduced a hybrid post-Newtonian formalism, which treats lowest order 1PN relativistic terms at a reduced strength, to make the problem numerically tractable, while treating the gravitational radiation reaction, which is the lowest order dissipative term in general relativity, at full strength. We compare the results of calculations with and without 1PN effects for initially synchronized binary systems, for neutron stars with polytropic equations of state, finding that relativistic corrections play an important role in the dynamical stability of such sytems and the resulting gravitational wave forms. Relativistic corrections also suppress mass shedding in these systems. Studies of initially irrotational binary systems demonstrated that our results are independent of the numerical resolution of the calculations. The power spectrum of the gravitational radiation produced during a merger is found to yield important information about the neutron star equation of state, the binary mass ratio, and other physical parameters of the system.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2001

Author dc:creator

• Faber, Joshua Aaron, 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Frederic A. Rasio.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8283

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/8283