Gravitational waves from pulsars with measured braking index

TL;DR

This paper investigates gravitational wave emission from pulsars with measured braking indices, proposing a model combining GW and magnetic dipole braking, and assesses their detectability by advanced detectors like aLIGO and Einstein Telescope.

Contribution

It introduces a model where both gravitational wave emission and magnetic dipole braking explain pulsar braking indices, considering time-dependent magnetic fields and angles.

Findings

aLIGO could detect GWs from pulsars like Vela

The combined braking model explains observed braking indices

Time-dependent magnetic parameters are crucial for accurate modeling

Abstract

We study the putative emission of gravitational waves (GWs) in particular for pulsars with measured braking index. We show that the appropriate combination of both GW emission and magnetic dipole brakes can naturally explain the measured braking index, when the surface magnetic field and the angle between the magnetic dipole and rotation axes are time dependent. Then we discuss the detectability of these very pulsars by aLIGO and the Einstein Telescope. We call attention to the realistic possibility that aLIGO can detect the GWs generated by at least some of these pulsars, such as Vela, for example.