Measuring the nuclear equation of state with neutron star-black hole mergers
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Gravitational-wave (GW) observations of neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers are sensitive to the nuclear equation of state (EOS). We present a new methodology for EOS inference with nonparametric Gaussian process priors, enabling direct constraints on the pressure at specific densities and the length-scale of correlations on the EOS. Using realistic simulations of NSBH mergers, incorporating both GW and electromagnetic selection to ensure sample purity, we find that a GW detector network operating at O5 sensitivities will constrain the radius of a 1.4𝑀⊙ NS and the maximum NS mass with 1.6% and 13% precision, respectively. With the same sample, the projected constraint on the length-scale of correlations in the EOS is ≥3.2 MeV fm−3. These results demonstrate strong potential for insights into the nuclear EOS from NSBH systems, provided they are robustly identified.
Date Issued
2024-07-29
Date Acceptance
2024-07-03
Citation
Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 2024, 110 (2)
ISSN
1550-2368
Publisher
American Physical Society
Journal / Book Title
Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology
Volume
110
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2024 American Physical Society. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Subjects
Astronomy & Astrophysics
BAYESIAN-INFERENCE
DETECTIONS
KILONOVAE
Physical Sciences
Physics
Physics, Particles & Fields
Science & Technology
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
024076
Date Publish Online
2024-07-29