Colloquium: Dr. Fabian Gittins | Johns Hopkins University

TITLE:  The Hidden Physics Gravitational-Wave Asteroseismology Can Reveal Asteroseismology Can Reveal

ABSTRACT: Neutron stars contain the densest known matter in the Universe, making them unique laboratories for physics under extreme conditions. Gravitational waves from inspiralling compact binaries carry information about this dense matter through the stars' tidal response. Most work has focused on the static tidal-deformability parameter. However, in reality, the tide is dynamical and intrinsically coupled to the neutron star's spectrum of oscillation modes. The oscillation modes are sensitive seismological probes of the stellar interior and have already transformed our understanding of the Sun and other stars. In this talk, I will describe the physics of dynamical tides in neutron stars. We will see how these modes imprint themselves on the gravitational-wave signal and how they can reveal aspects of dense-matter physics that are otherwise inaccessible. I will review three promising families of oscillation modes that may be observable with gravitational-wave detectors in the near future. Their detection would open a new window into properties of dense matter that remain hidden from conventional astronomical measurements.