20,550 research outputs found
The dynamics of dissipative multi-fluid neutron star cores
We present a Newtonian multi-fluid formalism for superfluid neutron star
cores, focussing on the additional dissipative terms that arise when one takes
into account the individual dynamical degrees of freedom associated with the
coupled "fluids". The problem is of direct astrophysical interest as the nature
of the dissipative terms can have significant impact on the damping of the
various oscillation modes of the star and the associated gravitational-wave
signatures. A particularly interesting application concerns the
gravitational-wave driven instability of f- and r-modes. We apply the developed
formalism to two specific three-fluid systems: (i) a hyperon core in which both
Lambda and Sigma^- hyperons are present, and (ii) a core of deconfined quarks
in the colour-flavour-locked phase in which a population of neutral K^0 kaons
is present. The formalism is, however, general and can be applied to other
problems in neutron-star dynamics (such as the effect of thermal excitations
close to the superfluid transition temperature) as well as laboratory
multi-fluid systems.Comment: RevTex, no figure
The g-mode spectrum of reactive neutron star cores
We discuss the impact of nuclear reactions on the spectrum of gravity g-modes
of a mature neutron star, demonstrating the anticipated disappearance of these
modes when the timescale associated with the oscillations is longer than that
of nuclear reactions. This is the expected result, but different aspects of the
demonstration may be relevant for related problems in neutron star
astrophysics. In particular, we develop the framework required for an explicit
implementation of finite-time nuclear reactions in neutron star oscillation
problems and demonstrate how this formulation connects with the usual bulk
viscosity prescription. We also discuss implications of the absence of very
high order g-modes for problems of astrophysical relevance.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Relativistic Two-stream Instability
We study the (local) propagation of plane waves in a relativistic,
non-dissipative, two-fluid system, allowing for a relative velocity in the
"background" configuration. The main aim is to analyze relativistic two-stream
instability. This instability requires a relative flow -- either across an
interface or when two or more fluids interpenetrate -- and can be triggered,
for example, when one-dimensional plane-waves appear to be left-moving with
respect to one fluid, but right-moving with respect to another. The dispersion
relation of the two-fluid system is studied for different two-fluid equations
of state: (i) the "free" (where there is no direct coupling between the fluid
densities), (ii) coupled, and (iii) entrained (where the fluid momenta are
linear combinations of the velocities) cases are considered in a
frame-independent fashion (eg. no restriction to the rest-frame of either
fluid). As a by-product of our analysis we determine the necessary conditions
for a two-fluid system to be causal and absolutely stable and establish a new
constraint on the entrainment.Comment: 15 pages, 2 eps-figure
The inverse problem for pulsating neutron stars: A ``fingerprint analysis'' for the supranuclear equation of state
We study the problem of detecting, and infering astrophysical information
from, gravitational waves from a pulsating neutron star. We show that the fluid
f and p-modes, as well as the gravitational-wave w-modes may be detectable from
sources in our own galaxy, and investigate how accurately the frequencies and
damping rates of these modes can be infered from a noisy gravitational-wave
data stream. Based on the conclusions of this discussion we propose a strategy
for revealing the supranuclear equation of state using the neutron star
fingerprints: the observed frequencies of an f and a p-mode. We also discuss
how well the source can be located in the sky using observations with several
detectors.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
A covariant action principle for dissipative fluid dynamics: From formalism to fundamental physics
We present a new variational framework for dissipative general relativistic
fluid dynamics. The model extends the convective variational principle for
multi-fluid systems to account for a range of dissipation channels. The key
ingredients in the construction are i) the use of a lower dimensional matter
space for each fluid component, and ii) an extended functional dependence for
the associated volume forms. In an effort to make the concepts clear, the
formalism is developed in steps with the model example of matter coupled to
heat considered at each level. Thus we discuss a model for heat flow, derive
the relativistic Navier-Stokes equations and discuss why the individual
dissipative stress tensors need not be spacetime symmetric. We argue that the
new formalism, which notably does not involve an expansion away from an assumed
equilibrium state, provides a conceptual breakthrough in this area of research
and provide an ambitious list of directions in which one may want to extend it
in the future. This involves an exciting set of problems, relating to both
applications and foundational issues.Comment: 21 pages RevTex, 3 pdf figures, matches the published version. arXiv
admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1107.1005 by other author
A Relativistic Mean Field Model for Entrainment in General Relativistic Superfluid Neutron Stars
General relativistic superfluid neutron stars have a significantly more
intricate dynamics than their ordinary fluid counterparts. Superfluidity allows
different superfluid (and superconducting) species of particles to have
independent fluid flows, a consequence of which is that the fluid equations of
motion contain as many fluid element velocities as superfluid species. Whenever
the particles of one superfluid interact with those of another, the momentum of
each superfluid will be a linear combination of both superfluid velocities.
This leads to the so-called entrainment effect whereby the motion of one
superfluid will induce a momentum in the other superfluid. We have constructed
a fully relativistic model for entrainment between superfluid neutrons and
superconducting protons using a relativistic mean field model
for the nucleons and their interactions. In this context there are two notions
of ``relativistic'': relativistic motion of the individual nucleons with
respect to a local region of the star (i.e. a fluid element containing, say, an
Avogadro's number of particles), and the motion of fluid elements with respect
to the rest of the star. While it is the case that the fluid elements will
typically maintain average speeds at a fraction of that of light, the
supranuclear densities in the core of a neutron star can make the nucleons
themselves have quite high average speeds within each fluid element. The
formalism is applied to the problem of slowly-rotating superfluid neutron star
configurations, a distinguishing characteristic being that the neutrons can
rotate at a rate different from that of the protons.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
The Spin Distribution of Fast Spinning Neutron Stars in Low Mass X-Ray Binaries: Evidence for Two Sub-Populations
We study the current sample of rapidly rotating neutron stars in both
accreting and non-accreting binaries in order to determine whether the spin
distribution of accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries can be
reconciled with current accretion torque models. We perform a statistical
analysis of the spin distributions and show that there is evidence for two
sub-populations among low-mass X-ray binaries, one at relatively low spin
frequency, with an average of ~300 Hz and a broad spread, and a peaked
population at higher frequency with average spin frequency of ~575 Hz. We show
that the two sub-populations are separated by a cut-point at a frequency of
~540 Hz. We also show that the spin frequency of radio millisecond pulsars does
not follow a log-normal distribution and shows no evidence for the existence of
distinct sub-populations. We discuss the uncertainties of different accretion
models and speculate that either the accreting neutron star cut-point marks the
onset of gravitational waves as an efficient mechanism to remove angular
momentum or some of the neutron stars in the fast sub-population do not evolve
into radio millisecond pulsars.Comment: Submitted to Ap
Superfluid instability of r-modes in "differentially rotating" neutron stars
Superfluid hydrodynamics affects the spin-evolution of mature neutron stars,
and may be key to explaining timing irregularities such as pulsar glitches.
However, most models for this phenomenon exclude the global instability
required to trigger the event. In this paper we discuss a mechanism that may
fill this gap. We establish that small scale inertial r-modes become unstable
in a superfluid neutron star that exhibits a rotational lag, expected to build
up due to vortex pinning as the star spins down. Somewhat counterintuitively,
this instability arises due to the (under normal circumstances dissipative)
vortex-mediated mutual friction. We explore the nature of the superfluid
instability for a simple incompressible model, allowing for entrainment
coupling between the two fluid components. Our results recover a previously
discussed dynamical instability in systems where the two components are
strongly coupled. In addition, we demonstrate for the first time that the
system is secularly unstable (with a growth time that scales with the mutual
friction) throughout much of parameter space. Interestingly, large scale
r-modes are also affected by this new aspect of the instability. We analyse the
damping effect of shear viscosity, which should be particularly efficient at
small scales, arguing that it will not be sufficient to completely suppress the
instability in astrophysical systems.Comment: RevTex, 11 figure
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