Detecting short-term gravitational waves from post-merger hyper-massive neutron stars with a kilohertz detector

Abstract

Abstract Gravitational waves emanating from binary neutron star inspirals, alongside electromagnetic transients resulting from the aftermath of the GW170817 merger, have been successfully detected. However, the intricate post-merger dynamics that bridge these two sets of observables remain enigmatic. This includes if, and when, the post-merger remnant star collapses to a black hole, and what are the necessary conditions to power a short gamma-ray burst, and other observed electromagnetic counterparts. Our focus is on the detection of gravitational wave (GW) emissions from hyper-massive neutron stars (NSs) formed through binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. Utilizing several kilohertz GW detectors, we simulate BNS mergers within the detection limits of LIGO-Virgo-KARGA O4. Our objective is to ascertain the fraction of simulated sources that may emit detectable post-merger GW signals. For kilohertz detectors equipped with a new cavity design, we estimate that approximately 1.1%–32% of sources would emit a detectable post-merger GW signal. This fraction is contingent on the mass converted into gravitational wave energy, ranging from 0.01M sun to 0.1M sun. Furthermore, by evaluating other well-regarded proposed kilohertz GW detectors, we anticipate that the fraction can increase to as much as 2.1%–61% under optimal performance conditions.