{
  "id": "1809.01116",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2018-09-04T17:42:08.000Z",
  "updated": "2018-09-04T17:42:08.000Z",
  "title": "Identifying a first-order phase transition in neutron star mergers through gravitational waves",
  "authors": [
    "Andreas Bauswein",
    "Niels-Uwe F. Bastian",
    "David B. Blaschke",
    "Katerina Chatziioannou",
    "James A. Clark",
    "Tobias Fischer",
    "Micaela Oertel"
  ],
  "comment": "Main paper: 7 pages, 4 figures; Supplemental Material: 3 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.HE",
    "hep-ph",
    "nucl-th"
  ],
  "abstract": "We identify an observable imprint of a first-order hadron-quark phase transition at supranuclear densities on the gravitational-wave (GW) emission of neutron star mergers. Specifically, we show that the dominant postmerger GW frequency f_peak may exhibit a significant deviation from an empirical relation between f_peak and the tidal deformability if a strong first-order phase transition leads to the formation of a gravitationally stable extended quark matter core in the postmerger remnant. A comparison of the GW signatures from a large, representative sample of microphysical, purely hadronic equations of state indicates that this imprint is only observed in those systems which undergo a strong first-order phase transition. Such a shift of the dominant postmerger GW frequency can be revealed by future GW observations, which would provide evidence for the existence of a strong first-order phase transition in the interior of neutron stars.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2018-09-04T17:42:08.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "neutron star mergers",
      "strong first-order phase transition",
      "gravitational waves",
      "dominant postmerger gw frequency",
      "extended quark matter core"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 7,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}