Constraints on the Neutron Star Equation of State from GW170817

The first detection of gravitational waves from a neutron star-neutron star merger, GW170817, has opened up a new avenue for constraining the ultradense-matter equation of state (EOS). The deviation of the observed waveform from a point-particle waveform is a sensitive probe of the EOS controlling the merging neutron stars' structure. In this topical review, I discuss the various constraints that have been made on the EOS in the year following the discovery of GW170817. In particular, I review the surprising relationship that has emerged between the effective tidal deformability of the binary system and the neutron star radius. I also report new results that make use of this relationship, finding that the radius inferred from GW170817 lies between 9.8 and 13.2 km at 90% confidence, with distinct likelihood peaks at 10.8 and 12.3 km. I compare these radii, as well as those inferred in the literature, to X-ray measurements of the neutron star radius. I also summarize the various maximum mass constraints, which point towards a maximum mass < 2.3 M_sun, depending on the fate of the remnant, and which can be used to additionally constrain the high-density EOS. I review the constraints on the EOS that have been performed directly, through Bayesian inference schemes. Finally, I comment on the importance of disentangling thermal effects in future EOS constraints from neutron star mergers.Comment: Invited contribution to the EPJA topical issue "The first neutron star merger observation - Implications for nuclear physics

Tidal deformability from GW170817 as a direct probe of the neutron star radius

Gravitational waves from the coalescence of two neutron stars were recently detected for the first time by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration, in event GW170817. This detection placed an upper limit on the effective tidal deformability of the two neutron stars and tightly constrained the chirp mass of the system. We report here on a new simplification that arises in the effective tidal deformability of the binary, when the chirp mass is specified. We find that, in this case, the effective tidal deformability of the binary is surprisingly independent of the component masses of the individual neutron stars, and instead depends primarily on the ratio of the chirp mass to the neutron star radius. Thus, a measurement of the effective tidal deformability can be used to directly measure the neutron star radius. We find that the upper limit on the effective tidal deformability from GW170817 implies that the radius cannot be larger than ~13km, at the 90% level, independent of the assumed masses for the component stars. The result can be applied generally, to probe the stellar radii in any neutron star-neutron star merger with a measured chirp mass. The approximate mass-independence disappears for neutron star-black hole mergers. Finally, we discuss a Bayesian inference of the equation of state that uses the measured chirp mass and tidal deformability from GW170817 combined with nuclear and astrophysical priors and discuss possible statistical biases in this inference.Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letter

Selective interactions in trapped ions: state reconstruction and quantum logic

We propose the implementation of selective interactions of atom-motion subspaces in trapped ions. These interactions yield resonant exchange of population inside a selected subspace, leaving the others in a highly dispersive regime. Selectivity allows us to generate motional Fock (and other nonclassical) states with high purity out of a wide class of initial states, and becomes an unconventional cooling mechanism when the ground state is chosen. Individual population of number states can be distinctively measured, as well as the motional Wigner function. Furthermore, a protocol for implementing quantum logic through a suitable control of selective subspaces is presented.Comment: 4 revtex4 pages and 2 eps figures. Submitted for publicatio

From Neutron Star Observables to the Equation of State. I. An Optimal Parametrization

The increasing number and precision of measurements of neutron star masses, radii, and, in the near future, moments of inertia offer the possibility of precisely determining the neutron star equation of state. One way to facilitate the mapping of observables to the equation of state is through a parametrization of the latter. We present here a generic method for optimizing the parametrization of any physically allowed EoS. We use mock equations of state that incorporate physically diverse and extreme behavior to test how well our parametrization reproduces the global properties of the stars, by minimizing the errors in the observables mass, radius, and the moment of inertia. We find that using piecewise polytropes and sampling the EoS with five fiducial densities between ~1-8 times the nuclear saturation density results in optimal errors for the smallest number of parameters. Specifically, it recreates the radii of the assumed EoS to within less than 0.5 km for the extreme mock equations of state and to within less than 0.12 km for 95% of a sample of 42 proposed, physically-motivated equations of state. Such a parametrization is also able to reproduce the maximum mass to within 0.04 M_sun and the moment of inertia of a 1.338 M_sun neutron star to within less than 10% for 95% of the proposed sample of equations of state.Comment: Minor changes made to match published ApJ versio