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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, gr-qc, Astrophysics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, astro-ph.HE
Abstract:
Using an extended set of equations of state and a multiple-group
multiple-code collaborative effort to generate waveforms, we improve
numerical-relativity-based data-analysis estimates of the measurability of
matter effects in neutron-star binaries. We vary two parameters of a
parameterized piecewise-polytropic equation of state (EOS) to analyze the
measurability of EOS properties, via a parameter {\Lambda} that characterizes
the quadrupole deformability of an isolated neutron star. We find that, to
within the accuracy of the simulations, the departure of the waveform from
point-particle (or spinless double black-hole binary) inspiral increases
monotonically with {\Lambda}, and changes in the EOS that did not change
{\Lambda} are not measurable. We estimate with two methods the minimal and
expected measurability of {\Lambda} in second- and third- generation
gravitational-wave detectors. The first estimate, using numerical waveforms
alone, shows two EOS which vary in radius by 1.3km are distinguishable in
mergers at 100Mpc. The second estimate relies on the construction of hybrid
waveforms by matching to post-Newtonian inspiral, and estimates that the same
EOS are distinguishable in mergers at 300Mpc. We calculate systematic errors
arising from numerical uncertainties and hybrid construction, and we estimate
the frequency at which such effects would interfere with template-based
searches.
