First Search for Gravitational Waves from the Youngest Known Neutron Star
Abstract
We present a search for periodic gravitational waves from the neutron star in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The search coherently analyzes data in a 12 day interval taken from the fifth science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. It searches gravitational-wave frequencies from 100 to 300 Hz and covers a wide range of first and second frequency derivatives appropriate for the age of the remnant and for different spin-down mechanisms. No gravitational-wave signal was detected. Within the range of search frequencies, we set 95% confidence upper limits of (0.7-1.2) × 10-24 on the intrinsic gravitational-wave strain, (0.4-4) × 10-4 on the equatorial ellipticity of the neutron star, and 0.005-0.14 on the amplitude of r-mode oscillations of the neutron star. These direct upper limits beat indirect limits derived from energy conservation and enter the range of theoretical predictions involving crystalline exotic matter or runaway r-modes. This paper is also the first gravitational-wave search to present upper limits on the r-mode amplitude.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 2010
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/722/2/1504
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1006.2535
- Bibcode:
- 2010ApJ...722.1504A
- Keywords:
-
- gravitational waves;
- stars: neutron;
- supernovae: individual: Cassiopeia A;
- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 26 pages, 5 figures
