Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: For a variety of fully relativistic polytropic neutron star models we calculate the star's tidal Love number k 2 . Most realistic equations of state for neutron stars can be approximated as a polytrope with an effective index n ≈ 0.5–1.0. The equilibrium stellar model is obtained by numerical integration of the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkhov equations. We calculate the linear l = 2 static perturbations to the Schwarzschild spacetime following the method of Thorne and Campolattaro. Combining the perturbed Einstein equations into a single second-order differential equation for the perturbation to the metric coefficient g tt and matching the exterior solution to the asymptotic expansion of the metric in the star's local asymptotic rest frame gives the Love number. Our results agree well with the Newtonian results in the weak field limit. The fully relativistic values differ from the Newtonian values by up to ~24%. The Love number is potentially measurable in gravitational wave signals from inspiralling binary neutron stars.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/533487
Author: Tanja Hinderer
Institution: Cornell University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2012430171