The allowed parameter space of a long-lived neutron star as the merger remnant of GW170817

TL;DR

This paper investigates the conditions under which a long-lived neutron star could be the remnant of GW170817, using gravitational wave and electromagnetic data to constrain the neutron star's properties and equation of state.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the parameter space allowing a long-lived neutron star remnant for GW170817, considering various equations of state and observational constraints.

Findings

Long-lived neutron star possible with stiff equations of state.

Magnetic field constrained to magnetar level (~10^{14} G) for certain ellipticities.

Post-merger gravitational wave signals are unlikely to constrain ellipticity.

Abstract

Limited by the sensitivities of the current gravitational wave (GW) detectors, the central remnant of the binary neutron star (NS) merger associated with GW170817 remains an open question. Considering the relatively large total mass, it is generally proposed that the merger of GW170817 would lead to a shortly lived hypermassive NS or directly produce a black hole (BH). There is no clear evidence to support or rule out a long-lived NS as the merger remnant. Here we utilize the GW and electromagnetic (EM) signals to comprehensively investigate the parameter space that allows a long-lived NS to survive as the merger remnant of GW170817. We find that for some stiff equations of state, the merger of GW170817 could, in principle, lead to a massive NS, which has a millisecond spin period. The post-merger GW signal could hardly constrain the ellipticity of the NS. If the ellipticity reaches $10^{-3}$, in order to be compatible with the multi-band EM observations, the dipole magnetic field of the NS ($B_p$) is constrained to the magnetar level of $\sim10^{14}$ G. If the ellipticity is smaller than $10^{-4}$, $B_p$ is constrained to the level of $\sim10^{10}-10^{12}\,$G. These conclusions weakly depend on the adoption of equations of state.